Great Powers, Small Wars: Asymmetric Conflict since 1945

A sophisticated appraisal of the problem of asymmetric conflict in the post–World War II period. In a sophisticated combination of quantitative research and two in-depth case studies, Larisa Deriglazova surveys armed conflicts post World War II in which one power is much stronger than the other. She then focuses on the experiences of British decolonization after World War II and the United States in the 2003 Iraq war. Great Powers, Small Wars employs several large databases to identify basic characteristics and variables of wars between enemies of disproportionate power. Case studies examine the economics, domestic politics, and international factors that ultimately shaped military events more than military capacity and strategy.

Table of Contents:
List of Tables List of Figures Preface: Asymmetric Conflicts: An Equation With Many Unknowns Acknowledgments 1. Origin and Development of the Asymmetric Conflict Concept Postwar Peace: From Total War to Asymmetric Conflicts Critical Approaches to the Concept of Asymmetric Conflict Defining Asymmetric Conflict Developing an Analytical Model of Asymmetric Conflict 2. Identifying the Asymmetry Factor in Armed Conflicts Data Sources and Methods of Analysis Identifying Asymmetry in the Structural and Dynamic Characteristics of Armed Conflicts Impact of the Asymmetry Factor on Conflicts Involving the Great Powers Conclusions 3. The Dissolution of the British Empire and Asymmetric Conflicts in Dependencies The Dissolution of the British Empire Asymmetric Armed Conflicts Accompanying the Colonies' Struggle for Independence Factors in the British Political Defeat in Asymmetric Conflicts in Its Colonies Conclusion 4. The US War in Iraq, 2003–2011 The War's Objectives and Legitimation of the War's Cause Course of the War and the Evolution of Strategies The War's Outcomes Discussion of the War's Outcome in the United States Conclusions Conclusion: Analyzing Asymmetric Conflicts Using the Model Appendix: List of Armed Conflicts from the Cosimo Database Used in the Study Notes Index

About the Author :
Larisa Deriglazova is an associate professor of history and chair of World Politics at Tomsk State University’s International Relations Department. She was a scholar in the Kennan-Fulbright Scholarship program at the Wilson Center in 2009.

Review :
A short review cannot do justice to the richness, the comprehensiveness, and the scholarly depth of Thomas’s work, which will surely serve as a leading text in its area for many years. —War in History Journal