The first edition of this important work was a groundbreaking effort to draw comparative conclusions from the accumulated cases of military-civilian interaction in humanitarian/political emergencies. It rapidly became essential reading for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners as they attempted to come to grips with the dilemmas of external engagement in wars within states. This edition breaks new ground and takes account of conceptual innovations at the end of the 1990s. It sharpens the comparative logic further through persuasive analyses of interventions in Kosovo, East Timor, Iraq, and Afganistan. Most important, it provides an eminently realistic, if cautious, assessment of the lessons we can draw from the accumulated experience of the post–Cold War era.
S Neil MacFarlane, University of Oxford Whether you are a soldier, a diplomat, or an aid worker, Tom Weiss's analysis and reasoning are essential reading—the challenges he addresses will be on the international agenda for years to come.
General (ret.) William L. Nash, Council on Foreign Relations Thomas G. Weiss has generated leadership across disciplines for path-breaking scholarship about international military operations in humanitarian emergencies. This new edition of his highly-regarded Military-Civilian Interactions carries the analysis of forceful humanitarianism into the post–September 11 era. Weiss supplies the best available data for the crises of the 1990s, so that military and civilian authorities can draw the fullest lessons for new challenges in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere.
Lori F. Damrosch, Henry L. Moses Professor of Law and International Organization, Columbia University School of Law