In this provocative history, David Tucker argues that "irregular warfare"-including terrorism, guerrilla warfare, and other insurgency tactics-is intimately linked to the rise and decline of Euro-American empire around the globe. Tracing the evolution of resistance warfare from the age of the conquistadors through the United States' recent ventures in Afghanistan and Iraq, Revolution and Resistance demonstrates that contemporary conflicts in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia are simply the final stages in the unraveling of Euro-American imperialism. Tucker explores why it was so difficult for indigenous people and states to resist imperial power, which possessed superior military technology and was driven by a curious moral imperative to conquer. He also explains how native populations eventually learned to fight back by successfully combining guerrilla warfare with political warfare. By exploiting certain Euro-American weaknesses-above all, the instability created by the fading rationale for empire-insurgents were able to subvert imperialism by using its own ideologies against it. Tucker also examines how the development of free trade and world finance began to undermine the need for direct political control of foreign territory. Touching on Pontiac's Rebellion of 1763, Abd el-Kader's jihad in nineteenth-century Algeria, the national liberation movements that arose in twentieth-century Palestine, Vietnam, and Ireland, and contemporary terrorist activity, Revolution and Resistance shows how changing means have been used to wage the same struggle. Emphasizing moral rather than economic or technological explanations for the rise and fall of Euro-American imperialism, this concise, comprehensive book is required reading for anyone seeking to understand the character of contemporary conflict.
Show moreIn this provocative history, David Tucker argues that "irregular warfare"-including terrorism, guerrilla warfare, and other insurgency tactics-is intimately linked to the rise and decline of Euro-American empire around the globe. Tracing the evolution of resistance warfare from the age of the conquistadors through the United States' recent ventures in Afghanistan and Iraq, Revolution and Resistance demonstrates that contemporary conflicts in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia are simply the final stages in the unraveling of Euro-American imperialism. Tucker explores why it was so difficult for indigenous people and states to resist imperial power, which possessed superior military technology and was driven by a curious moral imperative to conquer. He also explains how native populations eventually learned to fight back by successfully combining guerrilla warfare with political warfare. By exploiting certain Euro-American weaknesses-above all, the instability created by the fading rationale for empire-insurgents were able to subvert imperialism by using its own ideologies against it. Tucker also examines how the development of free trade and world finance began to undermine the need for direct political control of foreign territory. Touching on Pontiac's Rebellion of 1763, Abd el-Kader's jihad in nineteenth-century Algeria, the national liberation movements that arose in twentieth-century Palestine, Vietnam, and Ireland, and contemporary terrorist activity, Revolution and Resistance shows how changing means have been used to wage the same struggle. Emphasizing moral rather than economic or technological explanations for the rise and fall of Euro-American imperialism, this concise, comprehensive book is required reading for anyone seeking to understand the character of contemporary conflict.
Show moreTable of Contents Introduction 1. Conquest 2. Revolution 3. Resistance 4. Retreat Conclusion Bibliography
Tucker balances analysis of the more often discussed material factors, machines, weapons, training, and discipline with a convincing demonstration that attitudes and ideas were important as well. The book's broad scope and clear, concise writing should attract general readers and academicians seeking a reliable introduction to a complex subject. -- Dennis E. Showalter, Colorado College, coauthor of If the Allies Had Fallen: Sixty Alternate Scenarios of World War II A new interpretation of the history of military affairs from a well-recognized authority in the field. Tucker offers a clear and provocative argument that both complements and challenges the existing literature concerning international politics and irregular warfare. -- Patrick J. Garrity, Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia, author of In Search of Monsters to Destroy? American Foreign Policy, Revolution, and Regime Change, 1776-1900 A cogent book with a sweeping argument that explains how moral rules affected Euro-American imperial rule by limiting the use of violence against those who resisted. Counterinsurgency is the modern way of countering the 'skulking' way of warfare within those constraints. Crisp, thought-provoking, and original. -- Jakub Grygiel, Center for European Policy Analysis, author of The Unquiet Frontier: Rising Rivals, Vulnerable Allies, and the Crisis of American Power
David Tucker is a senior fellow at the Ashbrook Center, Ashland University. He is the author of The End of Intelligence: Espionage and State Power in the Information Age and Illuminating the Dark Arts of War: Terrorism, Sabotage, and Subversion in Homeland Security and the New Conflict.
David Tucker's Revolution and Resistance: Moral Revolution,
Military Might, and the End of Empire (2016) offers a brief but
compelling account of the role moral changes play on the world
stage. Prompted to write the book by an editor who wanted a
succinct account of why irregular warfare is so prevalent today,
Tucker argues that to adequately address that problem, you have to
grapple with the way that economic, political, and cultural forces
interact to shape how peoples fight wars.
—Kirk Center
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