POL380Y1 Lecture 4: Week 4
Document Summary
War is a political act so disconnect immediate questions of security from the broader political reality. So if political reality changes it also effects the ability to use brutal force in order to get victory. So the meaning of victory changes as politics changes b/c war is a political act. We see a change in the ability to states to win against insurgencies which is puzzling b/c states are more powerful now. As we move towards now the rate of victory declines dramatically. Its not that they don"t connections b/w winning and how war is conducted on the ground. Today"s armies are more mechanized b/c planes, tanks so reliance on mechanization that makes them less able to deal w insurgents so more able and powerful the less able they were to deal w insurgents. Mechanization has something to do w the decline in states to win. Significant connection b/w level of mobilization and failure in counterinsurgency.
