Abstract Extremism poses a danger to any society and can be detrimental if unchecked. In the post-web era, extremist groups have started using information networks to influence public perception, gain silent sympathisers, and radicalize youth. One such group–the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS)–deftly uses information networks to intimidate rival groups, terrorize populations, radicalize youth, and recruit foreign fighters from Western countries—thus posing a threat to the security of regions in …

Abstract This paper presents a template of what to do and how to think if you want to influence others to join you in tackling complex problems in conditions of uncertainty, ambiguity and risk. It reports a study that (1) identifies what junior and mid-level military professionals perceive as being ‘good leadership’ from the perspective of followers, and (2) examines the evidence in favour of a leadership style that balances task and people requirements as the desired leadership mode within the military …

Abstract How does a small nation defeat an insurgency that has well-armed land, naval and air forces, that possesses a powerful and ruthless ideology, excels at information operations, extensively employs suicide bombing and terror tactics both nationally and internationally, controls a large territory and has strong global financial and moral support? How can a conventional military defeat hybrid warriors by learning and innovating in asymmetric warfare? Sri Lanka defeated the Tamil Tigers after more than …

Abstract Why is strategic thinking so difficult to cultivate within organisations? It is a general observation that organisations rely on either the emergence of strategic thinkers within the organisations or poaching proven strategic thinkers from other successful organisations. Public organisations, like the military, are often restricted in their potential pool of strategic thinkers. Would it not make more sense to grow a strategic thinking capability as one would build an offensive or defensive …

The Siege of Tsingtau: The German-Japanese War 1914   Written by: Charles Stephenson Pen & Sword, Barnsley, 2017, ISBN: 9781526702920, 244pp Reviewed by: Brigadier Chris Roberts AM, CSC (Rtd) Charles Stephenson’s The Siege of Tsingtau: The German-Japanese War 1914 delivers far more than the title suggests. In a highly readable style, and covering a wide canvas, we are presented with a succinct history of Imperial Germany’s acquisition of territories in East Asia and the Pacific during the late 19th …

Get Tough, Stay Tough: Shaping the Canadian Corps 1914-1918   Written by: Kenneth Radley Helion & Company, Solihull, 2014,  ISBN: 9781912174737 - Paperback, 423pp Reviewed by: Brigadier Chris Roberts AM, CSC (Rtd) Following on from his excellent study of the 1st Canadian Division during the Great War ( We Lead, Others Follow ) Kenneth Radley’s Get Tough, Stay Tough: Shaping the Canadian Corps 1914-1918 looks at the Canadians on the Western Front through a slightly different lens. In his first book Radley …

Courage without Glory: The British Army on the Western Front 1915   Edited by: Spencer Jones Helion and Company Limited, Solihull UK, 2015, ISBN: 9781910777183, 448pp Reviewed by: Brigadier Chris Roberts AM, CSC (Rtd) As Spencer Jones notes in his introduction, within the welter of books on the Great War, 1915 is the forgotten year of the war on the Western Front. In contrast to the plethora of works on the Gallipoli campaign, little has been devoted to the British Army’s experience in France and Belgium …

Soldiers and Gentlemen: Australian Battalion Commanders in the Great War 1914-1918     Written by: Dr William Westerman Cambridge University Press, 2017,  ISBN 9781107190627, 320pp   Reviewed by: Colonel Michael Mumford The Australian Army History series continues to produce excellent histories of the Australian Army and the latest, William Westerman’s Soldiers and Gentlemen , is devoted to the role of the battalion commander in the First World War. This book is the first examination of the background, …

The Centenary History of Australia and the Great War Series     Edited by: Jeffrey Grey Oxford University Press, 2014-2015, volumes 1 to 5     Reviewed by: Professor Michael Neiberg Mark Twain once said that Australia’s history “does not read like history, but like the most beautiful lies.” 1 When it comes to commemoration of the First World War, Twain’s words may be a bit harsh, but they have a ring of truth, and not only for Australia. Among the many patterns that have emerged worldwide during the …

Trust and Leadership: The Australian Army Approach to Mission Command   Edited by: Russell Glenn University of North Georgia Press, Dahlonega, 2020, ISBN 1940771692, 408pp Reviewed by: Dr Albert Palazzo Nations may wage wars, but soldiers conduct missions. There was a time when such a distinction did not exist. Warriors slashed and thrust at each other with swords and spears, and when one side broke and ran the battle, and often the war, was over. Today, however, the waging of war is far more complex and …