How the Weak Win Wars

How do the weak win wars? The likelihood of victory and defeat in asymmetric conflicts depends on the interaction of the strategies weak and strong actors use. Using statistical and in-depth historical analyses of conflicts spanning two hundred years, Ivan Arreguin-Toft shows that, independent of regime type and weapons technology, the interaction of similar strategic approaches favors strong actors, while opposite strategic approaches favors the weak. This new approach to understanding asymmetric conflicts allows us to makes sense of how the United States was able to win its war in Afghanistan (2002) in a few months, while the Soviet Union lost after a decade of brutal war (1979-1989). Arreguin-Toft's strategic interaction theory has implications not only for international relations theory, but for policy makers grappling with interstate and civil wars, as well as terrorism.

ISBN 0521548691   Volumes 1 ISBN13 9780521548694 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 449 Publisher Cambridge University Press   Published in Cambridge Imprint Cambridge University Press   Series ISSN 99 Format Paperback   Series title Cambridge Studies in International Relations Publication date 08 Dec 2005   Height (mm) 228 Library of Congress 2004058131   Width (mm) 152 DEWEY 355.42   Spine width (mm) 18 DEWEY edition DC22   Academic level Professional / Scholarly, Tertiary education Pages 274

1		Introduction		1
2		Explaining asymmetric conflict outcomes		23
3		Russia in the Caucasus : the Murid War, 1830-1859		48
4		Britain in Orange Free State and Transvaal : the South African War, 1899-1902		72
5		Italy in Ethiopia : the Italo-Ethiopian War, 1935-1940		109
6		The United States in Vietnam : the Vietnam War, 1965-1973		144
7		The USSR in Afghanistan : the Afghan Civil War, 1979-1989		169
8		Conclusion		200

'Arreguin-Toft has made a major contribution to the literature on a fascinating and very timely subject. How the Weak Win Wars should be required reading not only for International Relations scholars but also for would be US presidents who still do not grasp the limits of American military power now on display in Iraq.' Survival

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