Command
The Twenty-First-Century General

A history of modern military command, from the individualist, heroic generals of the twentieth century to the highly-professionalised command teams of the twenty-first.

Anthony King (Author)

9781108476409, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 31 January 2019

504 pages, 9 b/w illus.
23.5 x 15.9 x 2.7 cm, 0.93 kg

'King persuasively argues that command collectives are better suited to twenty-first-century military challenges than traditional, individualist command models …' Survival: Global Politics and Strategy

In the wake of the troubled campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq, military decision-making appears to be in crisis and generals have been subjected to intense and sustained public criticism. Taking these interventions as a starting point, Anthony King examines the transformation of military command in the twenty-first century. Focusing on the army division, King argues that a phenomenon of collective command is developing. In the twentieth century, generals typically directed and led operations personally, monopolising decision-making. They commanded individualistically, even heroically. As operations have expanded in range and scope, decision-making has multiplied and diversified. As a result command is becoming increasingly professionalised and collaborative. Through interviews with many leading generals and vivid ethnographic analysis of divisional headquarters, this book provides a unique insight into the transformation of command in western armies.

1. Command in the twenty-first century
2. The division
3. Defining command
4. Twentieth-century operations
5. Twentieth-century command
6. Leadership
7. The counter-insurgents
8. Kandahar
9. The march up
10. The new headquarters
11. Distributing command
12. The decision point
13. The crisis
14. The command collective.

Subject Areas: Military history [HBW], European history [HBJD], History [HB]