The dragons and the snakes : how the rest learned to fight the West /
David Kilcullen.
- [S.l.] : SCRIBE PUBLICATIONS, 2020.
- 325 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Introduction -- Note on terminology -- The dragon and the snakes -- Adaptive enemies -- Woolsey's snakes -- Liminal warfare -- Conceptual envelopment -- Ebb tide of the West -- Epilogue: A better peace?
In The Dragons and the Snakes, the eminent soldier-scholar David Kilcullen asks how this has come to pass, and what opponents of the West have learned during the last quarter-century of conflict. Applying a combination of evolutionary theory and detailed field observation, he explains what happened to the 'snakes'-non-state threats, including terrorists and guerrillas - and the 'dragons'-state-based competitors such as Russia and China. He explores how enemies learn under conditions of conflict, and examines how Western dominance over a very particular, narrowly defined form of warfare since the Cold War has created a fitness landscape that forces adversaries to adapt in ways that present serious new challenges to America and its allies.
9781925849158 1925849155
Military planning--History--United States--21st century. Diplomatic relations. International relations. International relations.
United States--Military policy. United States--Politics and government--2017- Western countries. Western countries--Foreign relations.