Dangerous Thresholds: Managing Escalation in the 21st Century

by Forrest E. Morgan, Karl P. Mueller, Evan S. Medeiros

Escalation is a natural tendency in any form of human competition, and today1s security environment demands that the United States be prepared for a host of escalatory threats. This analysis of escalation dynamics and approaches to escalation management draws on a range of historical examples from World War I through Somalia in the early 1990s to inform escalation-related decisionmaking.

274 pages, Paperback

First published June 4, 2008

About the author

Forrest E. Morgan, Ph.D., is a senior lecturer at the Carnegie Mellon Institute for Strategy and Technology (CMIST), Carnegie Mellon University. Morgan served 27 years in the U.S. Air Force then worked 16 years at the RAND Corporation doing strategy and doctrine research for national defense clients. He has authored and coauthored numerous books and research papers. While doing research in military applications of artificial intelligence at RAND, he was inspired to write his second novel, The Synthetic Woman.

Morgan practiced Asian martial arts for 30 years and taught them much of that time. His 1992 book, Living the Martial Way, sold over 125,000 copies and has been described as a classic in martial arts philosophy. His first novel, Waking the Snow
Leopard, is available in soft cover, Kindle, and audiobook.

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Foundational book worth reading, particularly chapter 2.