Saving Democracies - by Anthony J Joes Hardcover

About the Book

U.S. military forces are increasingly involved in peacekeeping missions around the world, and this new role raises the prospect of confrontation with guerrilla movements, combat for which troops are largely untrained. This book contains analyses of past and present conflicts involving the American military, not only the Vietnam experience but also more recent involvement in El Salvador and Somalia, each of which has provoked great controversy on the domestic front. The contributors also consider the experiences of other countries in meeting such threats: Russia's dangerously unstable democracy, Peru's successful efforts to defeat a notorious insurgency, and Japan's continuing reluctance to send even token military forces outside its own borders. These issues will continue to engage and challenge American society long into the next millennium.

Book Synopsis

U.S. military forces are increasingly involved in peacekeeping missions around the world, and this new role raises the prospect of confrontation with guerrilla movements, combat for which troops are largely untrained. This book contains analyses of past and present conflicts involving the American military, not only the Vietnam experience but also more recent involvement in El Salvador and Somalia, each of which has provoked great controversy on the domestic front. The contributors also consider the experiences of other countries in meeting such threats: Russia's dangerously unstable democracy, Peru's successful efforts to defeat a notorious insurgency, and Japan's continuing reluctance to send even token military forces outside its own borders. These issues will continue to engage and challenge American society long into the next millennium.

About the Author

ANTHONY JAMES JOES is Professor of International Relations at Saint Joseph's University. His previous works include Guerrilla Warfare: A Historical, Biographical, and Bibliographical Sourcebook (Greenwood, 1996), Gerrilla Conflict Before the Cold War (Praeger, 1996), Modern Guerrilla Insurgency (Praeger, 1992), The War for South Viet Nam (Praeger, 1989), and From the Barrel of a Gun: Armies and Revolutions (1986).