TY - BOOK ID - 85463661 TI - Tokens of power : rethinking war PY - 2017 SN - 1316805883 1316796299 1316800776 1107175119 1316626822 PB - New York : Cambridge University Press, DB - UniCat KW - War. KW - Balance of power. KW - Power (Social sciences) KW - Strategy. KW - Military strategy KW - Military art and science KW - Military doctrine KW - Empowerment (Social sciences) KW - Political power KW - Exchange theory (Sociology) KW - Political science KW - Social sciences KW - Sociology KW - Consensus (Social sciences) KW - Power, Balance of KW - Power politics KW - International relations KW - Political realism KW - Armed conflict (War) KW - Conflict, Armed (War) KW - Fighting KW - Hostilities KW - Wars UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:85463661 AB - War presents a curious paradox. Interstate war is arguably the most carefully planned endeavor by states, yet military history is filled with disasters and blunders of monumental proportions. These anomalies happen because most military history presumes that states are pursuing optimal strategies in a competitive environment. This book offers an alternative narrative in which the pillars of military planning - evaluations of power, strategy, and interests - are theorized as social constructions rather than simple material realities. States may be fighting wars primarily to gain or maintain power, yet in any given historical era such pursuits serve only to propel competition; they do not ensure military success in subsequent generations. Allowing states to embark on hapless military ventures is fraught with risks, while the rewards are few. ER -