Overview

Scholars and military practitioners alike have long sought to understand why some country's militaries fight hard when facing defeat while others collapse. In Endurance and War, Jasen Castillo presents a new unifying theory-cohesion theory-to explain why national militaries differ in their staying power. His argument builds on insights from the literatures on group solidarity in general and military effectiveness in particular, which argue that the stronger the ties binding together individuals in a group of any kind, the higher the degree of cohesion that a group will exhibit when taking collective action, including fighting in war. Specifically, he argues that two types of ties determine the cohesion, and therefore the resilience, of a nation's armed forces during war: the degree of control a regime holds over its citizens and the amount of autonomy the armed forces possess to focus on training for warfighting. Understanding why armed forces differ in their cohesion should help U.S. military planners better assess the military capabilities of potential adversaries, like Iran and North Korea. For scholars of international politics, cohesion theory can help provide insights into how countries create military power and how they win wars.

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9780804789103

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""Endurance and War is an important and innovative contribution to our understanding of military effectiveness. Jasen Castillo bucks popular views that attribute military cohesion to small-group ties or democracy, explaining instead that cohesion depends on the ability of governments to inculcate and enforce norms of absolute loyalty in society and governments' willingness to allow the military to develop strong internal bonds. Castillo persuasively argues that certain non-democratic states are likely to field the most cohesive militaries, whereas democracies face significant disadvantages in maintaining cohesion, particularly in protracted wars. Castillo's provocative arguments merit the attention of scholars and policymakers alike."" - Alexander B. Downes, Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, The George Washington University ""Jasen Castillo's Endurance and War is a must-read for the entire national security community. Masterfully summarizing and critiquing extant explanations of military effectiveness, Castillo offers his own novel and elegant theory that makes sense of different patterns of military effectiveness using factors such as the nature of the regime and the level of autonomy of the military. His elegant theoretical framework for understanding military effectiveness will be well-received by scholars and will also find a substantial audience among policy-makers as well."" - Michael C. Desch, Chair, Department of Political Science, and Co-director, Notre Dame International Security Program, University of Notre Dame

Jasen Castillo's Endurance and War is a must-read for the entire national security community. Masterfully summarizing and critiquing extant explanations of military effectiveness, Castillo offers his own novel and elegant theory that makes sense of different patterns of military effectiveness using factors such as the nature of the regime and the level of autonomy of the military. His elegant theoretical framework for understanding military effectiveness will be well-received by scholars and will also find a substantial audience among policy-makers as well. --Michael C. Desch, Chair, Department of Political Science, and Co-director, Notre Dame International Security Program, University of Notre Dame

Author Information

Jasen Castillo is an assistant professor in the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University.

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