BookTalk

The Diffusion of Military Power

September 20, 2010 / Philadelphia

Michael Horowitz

The Diffusion of Military Power looks at some of the most important military innovations throughout history, including the advent of the all-big-gun steel battleship, the development of aircraft carriers and nuclear weapons, and the use of suicide terror by nonstate actors. He shows how expensive innovations can favor wealthier, more powerful countries, but also how those same states often stumble when facing organizationally complicated innovations. Innovations requiring major upheavals in doctrine and organization can disadvantage the wealthiest states due to their bureaucratic inflexibility and weight the balance of power toward smaller and more nimble actors, making conflict more likely. This book provides vital insights into military innovations and their impact on U.S. foreign policy, warfare, and the distribution of power in the international system.

Michael Horowitz, a Senior Fellow in FPRI's National Security Program, is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania. He spent the 2006-07 academic year as a postdoctoral fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University. He completed his Ph.D. in the Department of Government at Harvard University, where his dissertation examined the diffusion of military power and the consequences for international politics. Prof. Horowitz was the Sidney R. Knafel Fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs in 2005-06. During the 2004-05 academic year, he was a pre-doctoral fellow at the Olin Institute for Strategic Studies at Harvard. He has previously worked at Science Applications International Corporation and at the Center for Strategic and International Studies as a Research Assistant in the International Security Program. He has also served as a consultant for the Defense Department on a range of international security issues.

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