Planning for Protraction

Iskander Rehman

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2023
• ISBN:
  9781040017388
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politica e relazioni internazionali
• Subtopic: Politica

As Sino-US relations have deteriorated, concerns have grown in Washington over its ability to defeat China in a major conflict. A conflict between such peer competitors would likely become a protracted war of attrition drawing on all dimensions of national power, but this reality has yet to receive a sufficient degree of analytical attention.

In this Adelphi book, Iskander Rehman provides a historically informed and empirically grounded study of protracted great-power war, its core drivers and characteristics, and an examination of the elements that have most often determined a competitor's long-term strategic performance. Final victory in a protracted conflict, this book argues, rests on a combination of three core factors: a state's military effectiveness and adaptability, its socio-economic power and resiliency, and the soundness of its alliance management and grand strategy. A detailed analysis of the contemporary Sino-US rivalry assesses how both parties might fare in the event of a protracted war, while highlighting some of its key differentiating aspects – most notably its nuclear and cyber dimensions.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Author
• Acknowledgements
• Chapter One Planning for protraction
• Chapter Two Great-power success in protracted warfare: key drivers and core components
• Chapter Three China, the US and protracted war: a comparative evaluation
• Conclusion
• Notes
• Index