War in an Age of Risk

Wars throughout history have been fought in the name of ideology, religion and the pursuit of peace. Our thinking about war - when itis justified, how it should be fought and how it is perceived - haschanged dramatically over time. Whereas in the past war has beenseen as a battle of wills, this provocative and illuminating newbook shows how war has evolved into an exercise in riskmanagement.

In a rare blend of political science, sociology, history andcultural thought, Christopher Coker peels away the layers ofmeaning shrouding our current understanding of war and warfare.Using the ideas of writers such as Zygmunt Bauman, Ulrich Beck andFrank Furedi, he shows that risk has become the language ofbusiness, politics and public policy and so we should not besurprised that it has now become the language of war. The bookhighlights the increasing difference between homeland security andnational security in the modern world, arguing that the defense ofthe citizen is often now more challenging than the defense of thestate. By demonstrating the changing character and complexity ofconflict from World War I to the current the current fight againstterrorism, the book provides a powerful and highly distinctiveaccount of the re-branding of war in an age of risk.

This book is set to ignite debate amongst students and scholars ofinternational politics as well as appealing to anyone interested inwar and its place in contemporary society.