Lcol (ret'd) David Last

Can smaller countries achieve through cooperation what superpowers cannot achieve by force? The military forces of the United States are reluctant to engage in peacekeeping, stabilization, and nation building, and the complexity of working in a national bureaucracy that is bigger and more divided than the United Nations and European Union combined makes response by the world's superpower difficult. Still, the chaotic margins of international order need stabilizing if they are not to threaten western and global interests in perpetuity. Herein lies the challenge of expeditionary missions for smaller advanced democracies: reject the technological fantasy of future war scenarios, come to terms with the social context of violence and the human implications of managing it, and project stabilization globally in support of a consensus that will survive a changing world order. Mission Critical will appeal to scholars, military, and strategic planners in countries small and large with an interest in sharing the heavy lifting of international security more effectively.