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Overview"In the past, posits Christopher Coker, wars were all-encompassing; they were a test not only of individual bravery, but of an entire community's will to survive. In the West today, in contrast, wars are tools of foreign policy, not intrinsic to the values of a society - they are instrumental rather than existential. The clash between these two """"cultures of war"""" can be seen starkly in the recent struggle in Afghanistan. In this text, Coker offers both a history of martial cultures and an analysis of how these are now changing. He locates the origins of the Western way of war in ancient Greece: for example, in the heroic ideals of Homer's Iliad. He then traces the development of this warrior spirit, moving from Rome's systemization of violence to encounters with such alternative ways of war as Sun Tzu's, the Islamic tradition, and Japan's kamikaze actions during World War II. This trajectory, he finds, ends in a crucial contemporary fault line: for the first time in history, war is no longer considered humankind's most revealing behaviour." Full Product DetailsAuthor: Christopher Coker , Christopher CokerPublisher: Lynne Rienner Publishers Inc Imprint: Lynne Rienner Publishers Inc ISBN: 9781588261304ISBN 10: 1588261301 Pages: 240 Publication Date: 30 September 2002 Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate , Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly Format: Paperback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: In Print This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us. Table of ContentsReviewsAuthor InformationChristopher Coker is reader in international relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |