The Use of Force: Military Power and International Politics

by Robert J. Art (Editor), Kenneth N. Waltz (Editor)

The Use of Force, long considered a classic in its own right, brings together enduring and influential works on the role of military power in foreign policy and international politics. Now in its seventh edition, the reader includes ten new selections to take account of key current international issues. Meticulously chosen and edited by leading scholars Robert J. Art and Kenneth N. Waltz, the selections are grouped under three headings: theories, key case studies, and contemporary issues. The first section includes essays that cover the security dilemma, terrorism, the sources of military doctrine, the nuclear revolution, and the fungibility of force. The second section includes case studies in the use of force that span the period from World War I through the war in Iraq. The final section considers issues concerning the projection of U.S. military power, the spread of biological and nuclear weapons, intervention in internal conflicts, and coping with terrorism and insurgencies. Continuing the tradition of previous editions, this fully updated reader collects the best analysis by influential thinkers on the use of force in international affairs.

Contributions by: Bruce J. Allyn, Robert J. Art, James G. Blight, McGeorge Bundy, Audrey Kurth Cronin, David M. Edelstein, Benjamin H. Friedman, John Lewis Gaddis, Alexander L. George, Morton H. Halperin, Robert Jervis, Chaim Kaufmann, David Kilcullen, Gregory Koblentz, Christopher Layne, John J. Mearsheimer, Louis Morton, Michael O'Hanlon, Robert A. Pape, Paul R. Pillar, Barry R. Posen, Christopher Preble, Ehsaneh I. Sadr, Scott D. Sagan, Sir George Sansom, Harvey M. Sapolsky, Jack L. Snyder, Stephen M. Walt, Barbara F. Walter, Kenneth N. Waltz, and David Welch

Genres: Politics, International Relations, Political Science, Nonfiction, History, War

552 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

Reviews

[Ilian Bambekov · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is something about politics that just does not seem to catch every person's eyes. However, if you are interested in understanding how the balances of international politics is altered through the use of military force, this book is just for you. The book itself brings together influential and enduring works on the state of military power in foreign relations. So go ahead and grab a hold of it and let your brain run free in a world where power, negotiation, and strong diplomatic relations are your greatest allies and understand contemporary threats to our infrastructure as well as the complexity of our political corruption.
Art and Waltz interpretation on the use of force in international politics is developed extremely well. The book goes heavily in-depth when they describe the specific events that have occurred in the past and caused an uprising. In the authors' points of view, Art and Waltz believe that our diplomatic relationships with our "allies" are not strong enough, and there is a specific reason to that.
The book mainly focuses on the threats from other nations as well as our intended reply to them as opposed to how we have used our military force to secure our political domination. Everyone in our world is affected by the amount of corruption in our government and we have no idea why. If you would like to find out, read this book and you will be able to understand why we attack foreign countries and why we must find a way to secure our prosperity.
Ultimately, I recommend this book to anyone interested in Military procedures as well as International Politics. I highly enjoyed Art and Waltz's phenomenal point on how we should treat our current stand on politics.

[Jarrod · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the 7th edition which has a similar cover but doesn't seem to be listed on the site.

A couple off the wall ideas are presented in the book, thankfully the next chapter follows with a counterpoint to provide much needed balance

[Lorenzo Carrieri · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of short essays by accomplished scholars on the utilization of coercive means and their fungibility to the attainment of specific goals in the realm of international relations. A must read

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great topics and good choice of articles, but many are out of date and irrelevant considering recent national security events.
Read it with a grain of salt.

[David Snyder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good place to start discussion!

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful essays in here by prominent authors on IR and power.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read as part of college curriculum.