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  • © 2020

The Use of Force for State Power

History and Future

Palgrave Macmillan
  • Provides a multi-disciplinary look at force and its implications for rule

  • Develops a conceptual framework of force for sovereign powers based on theory from Aristotle, Sun Tzu, and Thomas Hobbes

  • Analyzes the past, present, and future of force and security with a focus on technology as a catalyst for power shifts

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Hardcover Book USD 99.99
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  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
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Table of contents (8 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xx
  2. Introduction: Tools for Sovereignty—Power and Force

    • Michael Warner, John Childress
    Pages 1-16
  3. Divide and Conquer: The Progress of Force to 1800

    • Michael Warner, John Childress
    Pages 17-53
  4. “The Civilizing Mission”: European Dominance to 1914

    • Michael Warner, John Childress
    Pages 55-79
  5. The World Crisis: 1914–1953

    • Michael Warner, John Childress
    Pages 81-122
  6. A Frozen World, 1953–1990

    • Michael Warner, John Childress
    Pages 123-179
  7. A Liberal Order?

    • Michael Warner, John Childress
    Pages 181-212
  8. Information Wars

    • Michael Warner, John Childress
    Pages 213-257
  9. Conclusion: Force and Trust in the Future

    • Michael Warner, John Childress
    Pages 259-276
  10. Back Matter

    Pages 277-315

About this book

This book studies force, the coercive application of power against resistance, building from Thomas Hobbes’ observation that all self-contained political orders have some ultimate authority that uses force to both dispense justice and to defend the polity against its enemies. This cross-disciplinary analysis finds that rulers concentrate force through cooperation, conveyance, and comprehension, applying common principles across history. Those ways aim to keep foes from concerting their actions, or by eliminating the trust that should bind them. In short, they make enemies afraid to cooperate, and now they are doing so in cyberspace as well.


Authors and Affiliations

  • Maryland, USA

    Michael Warner, John Childress

About the authors

Michael Warner serves as an Historian in the U.S. Department of Defense and has written and lectured on intelligence and cyberspace history.

John Childress is a U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel who has served as a ground commander in Iraq and Afghanistan and as an Assistant Professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point.



Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 79.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access