The Risk Society at War: Terror, Technology and Strategy in the Twenty-First Century

Product Description

In the globalised world of the twenty-first century, security policy in Western societies is driven by a wish to prevent future threats from becoming reality. Applying theories of ‘risk society’ to the study of strategy, this book analyses the creation of a new approach to strategy. The author demonstrates that this approach creates new choices for policy-makers and challenges well-established truths within the study of security and strategy. He argues that since the seventeenth century the concept of strategy has served to rationalise new technologies, doctrines and agents. By outlining the history of the concept of strategy in terms of rationality, Rasmussen presents a framework for studying strategy in a time of risk and uses this framework to analyse how new technologies of war, pre-emptive doctrines, globalisation and the rise of the ‘terrorist approach to warfare’ can formulate a new theory of strategy.

Review

“In illuminating detail, Rasmussen outlines how strategic thinking in the early twenty-first century has been reshaped by the concept of risk. This is a path-breaking book – original, insightful and uniquely important. I hope that politicians and generals alike will read it – they should.”
-Christopher Coker, Professor of International Relations, LSE

“At last a book that connects military strategy into the debate on ‘risk society’. Rasmussen should be read by everyone concerned with today’s strategic dilemmas, as well as by social scientists interested in risk.”
-Martin Shaw, Professor of International Relations and Politics, University of Sussex

“The overall quality of The Risk Society at War is testimony to the careful research and analysis that underpins the book. Weaving together various theoretical developments on risk research from otherwise disparate disciplines of sociology, criminology and international relations, and demonstrating their explanatory power in contemporary questions of war and question is itself a creditable achievement. Not only does it reiterate the benefits of broader cross-disciplinary research in risk studies, it is also a valuable contribution to the existing IR literature on strategy and security.”
-Yee-Kuang Heng, Lecturer in International Relations, University of St. Andrews, UK

“…The Risk Society at War offers a number of intriguing insights about the direction of strategy in the context of risk. Rasmussen convincingly argues that the RMA [revolution in military affairs] may give policymakers a false sense of control over international events and will create new problems as states are lulled into the belief that new technologies will lift the fog of war. He also worries that preventive military doctrines are ultimately self-defeating because states do not have the resources to deal with every imaginable risk. Finally, he criticizes the Bush Administration for making decisions with a sense of moral certainty that has kept it from anticipating the consequences of its actions.”
-Joshua Rovner, Williams College, The Journal of Politics

“…The Risk Society at War does an admirable job in addressing issues that arise when one moves from the singular threat and clear outcome of mutually assured destruction (MAD) to a future of multiple, uncertain risks.”
-David A. Siegel, Florida State University, Perspectives on Politics

Book Description

This book applies theories of ‘risk society’ to formulate a new theory of security strategy.

Book Description

The means-end rationality that previously guided Western strategy is no longer relevant to the twenty-first century security environment. This book presents a framework for studying strategy in a time of risk and uses this framework to create a new theory of strategy.

About the Author

Mikkel Vedby Rasmussen is director of the Centre for Military Studies at the Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen. He was a member of the Danish Defence Commission of 2008, was a co-writer of the Dani