Command: The Twenty-First-Century General

by Anthony King

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.

Genres: Military History, Leadership, War

504 pages, Hardcover

First published January 31, 2019

About the author

Anthony King was reader in sociology at the University of Exeter. He is now a Professor of War Studies at Warwick University.

In addition to his work on social theory, he has carried out extensive research on English and European football. He is currently researching European defence policy and capability. His work is currently specialising in the study of war and the armed forces and is particularly interested in the question of small unit cohesion.

Reviews

[Espen Stølan Holten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Legger til en ekstra stjerne for denne ⭐️
Meget grundig og etterrettelig uten at det går utover lesbarheten👌🏻
Beskriver utviklingen i kommando-funksjonen i vesten (USA, UK, GER, FRA) fra 1914 til i dag. Gir et godt innblikk i hvorfor vi gjør som vi gjør i dag, på alle nivå fom bataljon (hvor man har et forhold mellom en stab og en sjef). I Norge er kanskje er det nok mest nærliggende å sammenligne med FOH, spesielt bruken av deputies som beskrives godt.
Kommer såvidt inn på hvordan russiske- og kinesiske divisjoner ledes. Det hadde vært meget omstendig å tatt det med i boken, men om jeg skal sette fingeren på noe som helst, så hadde det vært interessant og dratt parallellen når man diskuterer hva som har vist seg mest effektivt.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting material on the evolution of the article exciting command. But I’m not sure I entirely agree with the book’s premise that there’s been a distinct shift in the nature of command from being fundamentally individualistic to collectivist. Instead, the trends discussed in the book (e.g. growth of staffs, need to ensure integration, and greater use of specialists) seem to make the military’s similar to that of many other institutions. In particular, increasing mission complexity and uncertainty often leads to larger staffs and more specialized capabilities.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly worth a read. Presents a compelling argument for how command at the Division-level has evolved across the last three decades. However, it is noteworthy that it does not adopt a strong history-based approach. In this way, it focuses on recent counterinsurgency conflicts and is dismissive of the possibility that future conflicts may look similar to those of the Second World War.

[Geir · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting analysis of the development of the division headquarters in the 20th century and the early 21st century. This is a fairly academically oriented work and is written for those who are truly interested in the details of command and how HQs support the commander.

[Breane Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Received an arc from netgalley. This is a very interesting and engaging nf book on the wars in Iraq and aphganistan. I fyou like military nf you will like this book!

[Strick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic

[Limme · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anthony King - Professor of War Studies at University of Warwick,illustrated In this masterpiece writing vividly art of mixing the military leadership , Commands and managent skills and emotions intelligence into a successful mission and operations outcomes.

[Aldo Biagini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Positively surprised by this book. Initially I thought it was a bit boring and too deep into army technicalities. In the end, the author wraps it up brilliantly and makes it all converge into the central point.

Before reading this book I had the idea that the army was a steep hierarchical structure with centralized decision making. This book changed this concept and explained why the transformation happened.

I would recommend it.