Geography Military Geography
by
Francis A. Galgano
  • LAST REVIEWED: 12 July 2017
  • LAST MODIFIED: 27 September 2017
  • DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199874002-0029

Introduction

Military geography involves the application of geographic information, tools, and technologies to military problems. In essence, military operations involve time, space, and the nature of what exists within the confines of that time and space—this is an inherently geographic perspective. By their very nature, military operations are geographic: they occur in places, and places contain unique natural and human landscapes. Furthermore, military operations now take place in various operational contexts such as peacekeeping, stability, disaster relief, civic action, and, of course, combat operations. Different operational environments and contexts require different types of geographic information; consequently, military geography offers an important vantage point from which to study the nature of military operations at diverse scales. It was only during the 19th century that the distinct academic subfield of military geography could be identified. Early military geography literature focused on chorographic descriptions of terrain, regional studies, and case studies to illustrate the effects of the physical landscape on battles. This literature was typically devoid of critical analyses, a perspective that persisted essentially through the First World War. The Second World War was a watershed for military geography, as it was embraced by academic geographers, who expanded its scope and scale to support a global-scale war effort, and thus military geography literature became more analytical and integrative. Cold War–era literature delved into the superpower partition of the world and geostrategy, along with the geographic nature of the proxy wars fought during that period. However, since the 1990s military geography has grown considerably as an academic subject, fueled in part by the transition from a bipolar strategic world to the realities presented by a less stable security landscape, which has demanded a proliferation of operations other than war and the need to respond to asymmetrical threats. These conditions have demanded an increasing volume of ever more sophisticated geographic analyses, and they have clearly sparked new interest in an academic subdiscipline that had been essentially dormant, in the United States, since the end of the Vietnam War.

General Overviews

Given the array of scales and broad diversity of topics in military geography, quality comprehensive treatments are difficult to find. Without question, the rapid evolution of the national security landscape and the expansion of the scope of military geography since the end of the Cold War typically mean that such attempts quickly become dated. Nevertheless, events following 11 September 2001 have demonstrated the need for expanded geographic awareness as it relates to military operations, and thus publications have shifted to incorporate asymmetrical warfare and operations other than war, along with the dynamics of the new strategic reality of a multi-centric world. Prior to 1998, the last published volume on military geography was Peltier and Pearcy 1966, which was a Cold War–era treatment of the global strategic dichotomy and a state-centric geostrategic situation. Since 1998, seven academic military geography books have been published. Collins 1998 was among the first of this new wave of books; it is an attempt to address all geographic aspects of the military landscape, and as such suffers from too much information with very little depth, but it remains a useful reference nonetheless. Winters 1998 focuses on the pervasive influence of the natural landscape on military operations and uses a series of excellent case studies to demonstrate this relationship; however, it essentially ignores the human landscape. Galgano and Palka 2011 includes a series of essays that strike a balance between traditional case studies and emerging themes in military geography by addressing the nexus of the human and natural landscape and military operations. Barnett 2004 is perhaps one of the most compelling contemporary geostrategy books; it redefines the structure of the global strategic geometry into a world that is now bifurcated by governed and poorly governed states and the unequal spread of prosperity engendered by globalization. Flint 2005 takes advantage of a diversity of perspectives as it analyzes the political processes of war and their spatial expression. Palka 2003 provides a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of military geography from its earliest roots to the modern era. Finally, Mang and Häusler 2006 is an excellent compendium of works that address the expanding range of military geography subjects in academic literature; it is edited by two Austrian military officers and includes works by authors from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Austria, Germany, and several Balkan states. Kaplan 2012 provides a compelling historical analysis of geographic realities and provides a projection of the evolving geography of national security. Finally, McDonald and Bullard 2016 represents a blend of classic historical military vignettes along with a series of papers on pressing contemporary issues in military geography to include environmental security, the management of military lands, and how the geosciences are used to support desert operations.

  • Barnett, Thomas P. M. The Pentagon’s New Map: War and Peace in the Twenty-First Century. New York: Putnam’s, 2004.

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    An innovative geopolitical analysis of the evolving national security landscape that incorporates emerging post–Cold War dynamics: globalization and economic competition, environmental stress, and failing states.

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  • Collins, John M. Military Geography for Professionals and the Public. Washington, DC: National Defense University Press, 1998.

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    A comprehensive treatment of all factors of geography as they relate to the military landscape. Lacks specificity and detail, but serves as an excellent catalogue of the pervasive influence of geographic factors on military operations.

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  • Flint, Colin, ed. The Geography of War and Peace: From Death Camps to Diplomats. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.

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    A series of essays that explain why war and peace cannot be understood without realizing that national and military leaders must negotiate a complex world map of sovereign spaces, borders, networks, and scales. Topics include terrorism, nationalism, religion, drug wars, water conflicts, diplomacy, peace movements, and postwar reconstruction.

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  • Galgano, Francis A., and Eugene J. Palka, eds. Modern Military Geography. New York: Routledge, 2011.

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    A series of essays that address the scope of military operations from peace to war. A balance of historical case studies and emergent themes from a group of international authors, and one of the few books produced by military professionals who are also credentialed geographers.

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  • Kaplan, Robert D. The Revenge of Geography: What the Map Tells Us about Coming Conflicts and the Battle Against Fate. New York: Random House, 2012.

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    Kaplan examines the insights and theories of classic geography from the past to evaluate important pivots in history. He uses these insights to look forward to the evolving national security landscape.

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  • Mang, Reinhard, and Hermann Häusler, eds. International Handbook of Military Geography. Vol. 2. Vienna: Arbeitsgemeinschaft Truppendienst, 2006.

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    A volume of essays by international authors. Many essays address civil-military cooperation, the nexus of cultural and urban landscapes and military operations, disaster relief, and stability operations. Includes a series of excellent essays about geospatial methods and how they relate to military operations.

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  • McDonald, Eric V., and Thomas Bullard, eds. Military Geosciences and Desert Warfare. New York: Springer, 2016.

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    This is a follow-on volume to Mang and Häusler 2006. This is a peer-reviewed collection of papers from the Military Geosciences Conference that took place in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2011 and includes works from international authors. The volume includes historical vignettes, environmental analyses, environmental security papers, and a section on how the geosciences support military operations in desert environments.

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  • Palka, Eugene J. “Military Geography.” In Geography in America at the Dawn of the 21st Century. Edited by Gary L. Gaile and Cort J. Wilmont, 503–513. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.

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    A comprehensive review of the evolution and scope of military geography from its early-17th-century roots to the modern era. Examines the shifting focus of military geography from micro- to macro-geographic analyses during different eras. Offers a compelling assessment of emergent national security themes.

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  • Peltier, Louis C., and G. Etzel Pearcy. Military Geography. Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand, 1966.

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    A Cold War–era précis of military geography. Dated now, but a very useful overview of that era of military geography.

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  • Winters, Harold A. Battling the Elements: Weather and Terrain in the Conduct of War. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998.

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    An examination of the pervasive influence of weather, climate, and terrain on military operations. A series of excellent case studies. Limited by its focus on the natural landscape. Does not address the evolution of military operations since the end of the Cold War.

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Journals

No single journal is devoted to military geography and geographic perspectives on salient national security issues. However, coverage of the geographic dimensions of military landscape can be found in a number of excellent journals. Regrettably, many so-called mainstream academic journals have refrained from publishing subjects in military geography. Fortunately, a number of excellent military journals are published by leading academic institutions in the armed forces. These journals benefit from the perspectives and intellect of their excellent faculty along with cogent and perceptive insights from military professionals. Additionally, because these journals are focused on salient issues and content rather than fostering a particular perspective, they offer refreshing and forthright contributions to the discipline. Within the academic journals, military geography papers are occasionally published in Professional Geographer and GeoJournal. Military Review is an excellent source of papers that address contemporary issues at the tactical and operational levels of warfare, along with other leading issues such as military land management and environmental stewardship. Parameters is a publication of the US Army War College; it incorporates many geographic articles that focus on the strategic level of military operations. Armed Forces and Society offers many articles with interdisciplinary perspectives such as peace operations and conflict management. The Canadian Military Journal is an excellent source of articles that address military operations other than war. Proceedings is focused on leading topics in national defense from a naval perspective. Finally, the Naval War College Review offers a number of excellent papers that examine emergent national defense issues from a geographic perspective.

War and Terrain

Factors of geography such as weather, climate, topography, and the human landscape have had a compelling and sometimes decisive influence on military operations throughout history. Military geographers typically think of places as operating environments, each exclusively influenced by the interrelationship of a distinct set of geographic variables, and thus one of the enduring features of military geography literature is the study of the relationship between war and terrain. One of the more persistent questions in the literature is whether changes in technology have reduced or even eliminated the effects of the landscape on military operations. Contemporary events have demonstrated that technology may moderate the effects of some elements of the landscape; however, technological innovations may at the same time magnify the effects of others. In the final analysis, an examination of military operating environments typically result in an assessment of factors such as key terrain, movement corridors and natural obstacles, hydrologic features, transportation networks and nodes, resources, and elements of the human landscape. Johnson 1917 and Johnson 1921 offer perhaps the most classic, enduring, and thorough examples of the nexus of terrain and warfare. Johnson 1917 focuses on the influence of terrain on the strategy of the First World War, while Johnson 1921 examines the relationship between the natural landscape and warfare at the tactical level. O’Brien 1991 investigates the ability of commanders to “see” the terrain by addressing the operational level of war. O’Sullivan 1991 examines this linkage through a series of case studies that include conventional and unconventional wars and a study of the urban landscape. Caldwell, et al. 2004; Doyle and Bennett 2002; and Rose and Nathanail 2000 are proceedings from the International Conference on Military Geosciences. Collectively, they represent one of the more important collections of contemporary assessments of terrain and warfare. Semple 1903 and Keegan 2009 present compelling and comprehensive military geographies of the American Civil War. Smallman-Raynor and Cliff 2004 illustrates the debilitating effects of disease during military operations. In many wars––even during the modern era––more solders and noncombatants perish from disease than from combat action.

  • Caldwell, Douglas, Judy Ehlen, and Russell S. Harmon, eds. Studies in Military Geography and Geology. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic, 2004.

    DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4020-3105-2Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Proceedings from an international military geosciences conference. A diverse series of essays by international authors, which examine the intersection of geography, terrain, and military operations. A balanced series of essays that use historical vignettes to illustrate the effects of terrain on battle and other topics, such as technological advances that enhance terrain analyses.

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  • Doyle, Peter, and Matthew R. Bennett, eds. Fields of Battle: Terrain in Military History. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic, 2002.

    DOI: 10.1007/978-94-017-1550-8Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Proceedings from an international military geosciences conference. A diverse series of essays by international authors, which examine the intersection of geography, terrain, and military operations. An excellent series of articles that illustrate the effects of the natural landscape on military operations and battles.

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  • Johnson, Douglas W. Topography and Strategy in the War. New York: Henry Holt, 1917.

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    Historical depiction of the influence of terrain on First World War strategy. Particularly good at demonstrating how geologic structure, movement corridors, and terrain obstacles affected the ebb and flow of the war at the strategic level. One of the classic military geography books and still of great value today.

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  • Johnson, Douglas W. Battlefields of the World War, Western and Southern Fronts. American Geographical Society Research Series 3. New York: Oxford University Press, 1921.

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    Dated but classic review of the influence of terrain on warfare and battle. Divides the western and southern fronts of the First World War into discrete terrain regions. One of the most influential works of the last century. Tactical level of warfare.

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  • Keegan, John. The American Civil War. New York: Knopf, 2009.

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    A history of the American Civil War that includes a great deal of insightful geographic analyses. Chapter 5, titled “The Military Geography and the Civil War,” gives an excellent explanation of the factors of the human and natural landscape of North America in 1861 that influenced the flow of military operations during the Civil War. Keegan uses military geography to explain how the landscape shaped the strategies of Confederate and Union forces, and he explains the interrelationships among large-scale movement corridors, transportation nodes, rivers, and the coastal zone.

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  • O’Brien, John. “Coup d’Oeil: Military Geography and the Operational Level of War.” Masters thesis, US Army Command and General Staff College, 1991.

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    A review of the importance of terrain at the operational level of warfare. The title, “Coup d’Oeil,” is derived from the French term for “glance,” used in military contexts to mean “an eye for the ground.” Focuses on the intellectual ability of military leaders to evaluate geography and apply that evaluation to successful military operations.

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  • O’Sullivan, Patrick Michael. Terrain and Tactics. New York: Greenwood, 1991.

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    Written for a popular audience, this informative summary of the military characteristics of the landscape examines linkages between terrain and tactics. Case studies include explanations of conventional and unconventional wars, urban warfare, and interesting contemporary dynamics.

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  • Rose, Edward P. F., and C. Paul Nathanail, eds. Geology and Warfare: Examples of the Influence of Terrain and Geologists on Military Operations. Bath, UK: Geological Society, 2000.

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    Proceedings from an international military geosciences conference. A diverse series of essays by international authors, which examine the nexus of geological formations and terrain structure and warfare. Several essays explain the role of military geologists. Focused only on the effects of the natural landscape. More geology than geography, but an excellent reference.

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  • Semple, Ellen C. American History and Its Geographic Conditions. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1903.

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    Semple’s work has been criticized for being highly deterministic. Nevertheless, she offers a compelling military geography of the American Civil War by explaining linkages among terrain corridors, river systems, mountain ranges, and transportation nodes, and how these in combination formed the terrain template on which the war was fought.

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  • Smallman-Raynor, M. R., and A. D. Cliff. War Epidemics: An Historical Geography of Infectious Diseases in Military Conflict and Civil Strife, 1850–2000. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.

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    A geographic perspective of the influence of disease on military conflict. This is a critical but largely ignored perspective of the nexus of terrain and warfare. Addresses such topics as wars and epidemics, mortality, and morbidity. Offers a compelling prospectus of potential bioterrorism and biological warfare.

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Geopolitics and Geostrategy

Geopolitics is the study of the political, economic, and strategic significance of geography. Geostrategy refers to the power of geographic space. Together, they form a subfield that examines how foreign policy is guided principally by geographical factors as they inform, constrain, or affect political and military planning. Geopolitics and geostrategy are concerned with studying power from a national perspective. A wide range of excellent resources inform the study of geopolitics and geostrategy, but three of them—Mackinder 1904, Mahan 1890, and Spykman 1942—are perhaps the seminal works that continue to define the geostrategic definition of world space. Modern geopolitics and geostrategy have their roots in Mackinder’s geographic assessment of world space. Mahan 1890 defines the critical role of naval power and seaborne commerce to control of world space. Spykman 1942 redefines Mackinder’s view of world power by stressing the importance of maritime mobility and the preeminent power of the rimland. The land and naval power focus of Mackinder, Spykman, and Mahan are complemented by De Seversky 1942, which examines the strategic potential of air power and its influence on world space. Fettweis 2000 explains the enduring importance of Mackinder’s organization of world space in the contemporary world. Gray 2009 examines the looming threats on the modern geopolitical landscape. Snow 2008 defines changing US geostrategy following the war in Iraq. Mathews 1989 explains the increasing role of environmental security on geopolitics and geostrategy. Finally, Milevski 2016 illuminates, in particular, the decline of grand strategic thinking and how it was bereft of geostrategy during the Cold War and the reemergence of geographic principles in grand strategy during the years after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

  • De Seversky, Alexander P. Victory through Air Power. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1942.

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    This book was published during the early days of the Second World War and presented a particularly prominent and controversial perspective on the use of airpower. In essence, Seversky advocated the use of air power, especially long-range bombers, to expand the strategic reach of the state. Although not explicitly a geographical work, this book offers a profound geographic perspective at the geostrategic level.

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  • Fettweis, C. J. “Sir Halford Mackinder, Geopolitics, and Policymaking in the 21st Century.” Parameters 30.2 (2000): 58–71.

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    Almost a century after his “Heartland” theory came into being, there is renewed interest in the region that Mackinder considered the key to world dominance. Explores the important role this landmass may play in this century and in the foreign policy and geostrategy of today’s lone superpower.

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  • Gray, Colin S. National Security Dilemmas: Challenges & Opportunities. Washington, DC: Potomac, 2009.

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    A contemporary primer on modern US national security. Addresses the major contemporary challenges and opportunities faced by US policymakers and strategists. Argues that deterrence is not a relic of the Cold War; rather, it is as viable now as it was during that period. Excellent geographic definition of the modern world.

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  • Mackinder, Halford J. “The Geographical Pivot of History.” Geographical Journal 23.4 (1904): 421–437.

    DOI: 10.2307/1775498Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    The seminal geopolitical division of world space. Defines the “Heartland” as the geographic pivot of history and the region that controls the world. Studies of geopolitics and geostrategy have to start here. Available online for purchase or by subscription.

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  • Mahan, Alfred T. The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660–1783. Boston: Little, Brown, 1890.

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    Dated but essential reference in the study of geostrategy. Defines the vital role of sea power and the importance of controlling seaborne commerce as part of the geostrategic calculus. Text available online.

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  • Mathews, Jessica Tuchman. “Redefining Security.” Foreign Affairs 68.2 (1989): 162–177.

    DOI: 10.2307/20043906Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    An influential and forward-looking paper that defines key dynamics in the evolving national security landscape: globalization, demographics, and instability triggered by environmental change. Available online for purchase or by subscription.

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  • Milevski, Lukas. The Evolution of Modern Grand Strategy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016.

    DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198779773.001.0001Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Milevski uses geography, among other perspectives, as a lens by which to understand the evolution of grand strategy. The principal thesis is that the study, appreciation, and understanding of strategy and strategic thought have not historically kept pace with the evolution of war. In particular, the second half of the book, which examines Cold War grand strategy, describes the decline in geographic thought in the application of strategy and how it reemerged following the Cold War.

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  • Snow, Donald M. National Security for a New Era: Globalization and Geopolitics after Iraq, 3d ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2008.

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    An examination of the changing geostrategic landscape in the so-called Global War on Terror. Explains the evolving security paradigm represented by violent nonstate actors.

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  • Spykman, Nicholas J. America’s Strategy in World Politics: The United States and the Balance of Power. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1942.

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    Essential reference for understanding the Cold War containment policy of the United States. Counters Mackinder’s argument about the dominance of the “Heartland.”

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Environmental Security

Developments since the 1990s suggest the need for an expanded definition of national security to include threats fostered by environmental stress. “Environmental security” refers to a broad range of security issues intensified by environmental factors and suggests that environmental stress has the potential to trigger violent conflict. Since the end of the Cold War, linkages between environmental stress and conflict have become an important paradigm in national security planning. The link between the environment and security has raised questions in academic geography about determinism and fostering a neo-Malthusian agenda. Nevertheless, a series of excellent quantitative studies have been published that demonstrate an undeniable link between environmental change and conflict. For example, Hsiang, et al. 2011 develops a quantitative model that demonstrates the doubling of conflicts in tropical regions during El Niño (ENSO) years. Similarly, the authors of Burke, et al. 2009 use historical data and climate model projections to predict an increase in armed conflict in sub-Saharan Africa. Myers 1989 is an earlier work that predicted, with remarkable clarity, the growing influence of environmental change in national security affairs. Likewise, the author of Bennett 1991 uses a series of effective case studies from the Sahel region to demonstrate linkages among environmental degradation, instability, and conflict. Homer-Dixon 1999 and Dalby 2002 are very influential academic publications that explore the human–environment–security discussion. The author of Diamond 2006 uses a series of case studies to demonstrate how nonsustainable practices may be linked to the downfall of various civilizations. Floyd and Matthew 2013 includes a series of well-written essays by leading experts. Conca 2006 and Soffer 1999 examine the related problems of geography, water, and conflict. Freshwater supplies are, geographically, highly variable and are not equitably distributed in a spatial sense; nor does the spatial distribution of freshwater match that of the world’s population. The water scarcity problem is further complicated because water does not lend itself to international management. Consequently, water has two important characteristics that make it a potential source of interstate conflict: (1) its degree of scarcity, which is being affected by climate change and demographic factors; and (2) the degree to which a water basin is shared between multiple states; a problem that is being exacerbated by poor governance.

  • Bennett, Olivia, ed. Greenwar: Environment and Conflict. London: Panos Institute, 1991.

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    Slightly dated but excellent series of essays by international authors. Focus on Africa and especially the Sahel region. Incorporates extensive analyses of environmental problems, but also addresses elements of culture and human practices.

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  • Burke, Marshall B., Edward Miguel, Shanker Satyanath, John A. Dykema, and David B. Lobell. “Warming Increases the Risk of Civil War in Africa.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 106.49 (2009): 20670–20674.

    DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0907998106Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Comprehensive examination of global climate change and potential linkages to armed conflict in sub-Saharan Africa. Quantitative analysis that examines historical trends and climate model projections.

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  • Conca, Ken. Governing Water. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2006.

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    An integrated perspective on national, international, cross-border, and cross-jurisdictional problems related to transboundary water systems. This is an eminently spatial problem that does not have useful remedies in international law.

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  • Dalby, Simon. Environmental Security. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2002.

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    Systematic explanation of how the environment can pose a geopolitical threat; explains the dimensions of human security and environmental degradation.

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  • Diamond, Jared. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. New York: Penguin, 2006.

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    Excellent (qualitative) case studies that examine linkages between environmental change and nonsustainable practices by various societies. Although not a military geography per se, Diamond’s work defines the classic nexus of environmental decline and societal response that defines the environmental security process.

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  • Floyd, Rita, and Richard Matthew, eds. Environmental Security: Approaches and Issues. New York: Routledge, 2013.

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    A series of essays by international authors. A recent and authoritative work that addresses water security, sustainable development, and climate change, among other subjects. Provides a clear framework for environmental security.

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  • Homer-Dixon, Thomas. Environment, Scarcity, and Violence. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999.

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    Perhaps the most complete and authoritative academic work on environmental security. Demonstrates that environmental security is not simply a neo-Malthusian paradigm. Lays out sources of scarcity and a range of results from conflict to adaptation.

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  • Hsiang, Solomon M., Kyle C. Meng, and Mark A. Cane. “Civil Conflicts Are Associated with Global Climate Change.” Nature 476 (2011): 438–441.

    DOI: 10.1038/nature10311Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    A compelling quantitative analysis of climate change and its linkage to conflict. Developed a quantitative model using ENSO data from 1950 to 2004. Indicates a significant increase in conflicts in the tropics during El Niño years. Available online for purchase or by subscription.

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  • Myers, Norman. “Environment and Security.” Foreign Policy 74 (1989): 23–41.

    DOI: 10.2307/1148850Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Prescient paper that lays out the environmental challenges facing the world and their impact on regional stability. Discussion of foreign policy and security implications. Case studies: The Philippines, Israel–Jordan–Syria, Egypt, El Salvador, and Mexico. Available online for purchase or by subscription.

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  • Soffer, Arnon. Rivers of Fire: The Conflict over Water in the Middle East. Lanham, MD: Roman & Littlefield, 1999.

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    Renewable freshwater is fundamental to human society; however, contemporary water demands are approaching the limits of a finite supply. The Middle East has one the fastest growing populations and is at the same time one of the most water-scarce regions in the world. This book examines the compelling problems of geography, water, and conflict in perhaps the world’s most volatile region.

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Governance and Ungoverned Spaces

Instability in failing states is having a debilitating effect on global and regional security. Regrettably, governance is a considerable predicament in the developing world, and since 1990 the number of failing states has grown. States with poor governance are being exploited by violent nonstate actors, and contemporary threats to security are characterized by enemies without territory or borders. This is a fundamental problem in the national security milieu, and military geography offers an important vantage point from which to study it. A growing body of academic literature explores the geographic dimensions of governance and failed states. Miskel and Norton 1997 offers a compelling metric by which to gauge the problem of failed states. Kaplan 2000 examines the combined influence of globalization and the merging of borders in West Africa. For those interested in classification schemes, Galgano 2006 develops a functional and genetic classification system to categorize ungoverned areas. Norton 2003 addresses the problem of the “feral” city that is no longer controlled by a government entity. Thomas 2006 examines the expansion of ungoverned regions, especially in the southern cone of South America. Smith and Vivekananda 2007 examines the nexus of climate change and failing states. Rabasa, et al. 2007 presents a risk analysis–based methodology by which to examine failed states. Agnew 2009 offers a compelling and alternative perspective on effective sovereignty that contends that control and authority over space are not contained in traditional state boundaries but rather are replaced by networks that substitute for traditional borders. Finally, Danczuk 2016 examines the highly correlated relationship between failed states and the uncontrolled proliferation of small arms among violent nonstate actors.

  • Agnew, John. Globalization & Sovereignty. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2009.

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    Confronts the perception that globalization and the modern national security landscape have overwhelmed state sovereignty. Compelling geographic perspective that disconnects sovereignty from discrete territory and suggests that the state remains the dominant factor; thus, control and authority over space is not contained in traditional state boundaries but rather is replaced by one of networks that substitute for traditional borders.

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  • Danczuk, Josef D. “The Global Spread of Arms: The Link between Collapse, Small Arms Proliferation, and Global Conflict.” Military Review 96.5 (2016): 42–50.

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    Failed and failing states are experiencing uncontrolled arms proliferation. These weapons are being used by violent nonstate actors such as militias, terrorist organizations, and crime groups and collectively they represent a serious threat to regional instability.

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  • Galgano, Francis A. “A Geographic Analysis of Un-governed Spaces.” Pennsylvania Geographer 44.2 (2006): 67–90.

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    A functional and genetic classification of ungoverned areas. Explanation how nonstate actors take hold and replace the so-called legitimate government.

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  • Kaplan, Robert D. The Coming Anarchy: Shattering the Dreams of the Post Cold War. New York: Random House, 2000.

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    An excellent analysis of the driving factors that are triggering state failure in West Africa. Dynamics of economic globalization and the decline of sovereign borders and their contribution to a growing disorder in the region.

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  • Miskel, James, and Richard J. Norton. “Spotting Trouble: Identifying Faltering and Failing States.” Naval War College Review 50.2 (1997): 79–91.

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    Metric for gauging the level of governance in a failing state. Explains how a failed state spreads instability to adjacent countries and throughout a region.

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  • Norton, Richard. “Feral Cities.” Naval War College Review 56.4 (2003): 97–106.

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    Addresses a growing and important specialized classification of ungoverned spaces: the so-called feral city, or failed city.

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  • Rabasa, Angel, Steven Boraz, Peter Chalk, et al. Ungoverned Territories: Understanding and Reducing Terrorism Risks. Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2007.

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    An analysis of governance by region and methods by which to reduce the risks of terrorism.

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  • Smith, Dan, and Janani Vivekananda. A Climate of Conflict: The Links between Climate Change, Peace and War. London: International Alert, 2007.

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    Quantitative analysis of the nexus of climate change and failing states. Outlines the potential for environmentally triggered violence in a greenhouse world. Explains how states are at a high risk of violent conflict in the near term.

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  • Thomas, Troy S. “Control Roaming Dogs: Governance Operations in Future Conflict.” Military Review (January–February 2006): 78–85.

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    Geographic and operational overview of the security problem presented by violent nonstate actors, especially in South America. Excellent case study of the tri-border area of Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay.

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Effective Sovereignty Doctrine

Related closely to governance and failed states is the emergent doctrine of effective sovereignty. Many states cannot exert effective control over their territory, and thus old rules of state sovereignty may no longer apply. This paradigm has been termed “effective sovereignty doctrine,” which contends that in situations where US national security may be threatened by a foreign government’s failure to exercise adequate control over its territory, the United States reserves the right to take any action deemed necessary to ensure its security. The most notable manifestation of this doctrine is the so-called drone war over Western Pakistan. Geographers are only just beginning to examine this important aspect of the national security landscape. Galgano 2011 examines the geography of Pakistan’s tribal areas and tracks the geographic dimensions of the drone war. Roggio and Mayer 2007–2013 (The Long War Journal) charts the spatial and temporal distribution of US airstrikes in western Pakistan and provides insightful analyses of the geography of the spreading conflict in the tribal lands. Bartelson 2006 dissects the concept of sovereignty in the new world order. Rosenthal 2004 disassembles the rules of war and traditional diplomatic norms that ruled the state-centric world in light of the proliferation of failed states. Hoffman 2005 notes the path ahead in an era of so-called global terrorism. Berry, et al. 2003 and US Department of State 2008 provide state-by-state and regional analyses of places that fail to provide effective sovereignty over their territory. US Agency for International Development 2005 offers an assessment of failed states and the use of diplomacy and international aid as a means to assert effective sovereignty.

  • Bartelson, Jens. “The Concept of Sovereignty Revisited.” European Journal of International Law 17.2 (2006): 463–474.

    DOI: 10.1093/ejil/chl006Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Examines the concept of effective sovereignty from a legal perspective and addresses the rationale for a state’s need for self-defense when another sovereign fails to control violence that emanates from its territory.

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  • Berry, LaVerle, Glenn E. Curtis, John N. Gibbs, et al. Nations Hospitable to Organized Crime and Terrorism. Washington, DC: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 2003.

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    A state-by-state assessment of countries that fail to exert effective sovereignty and are thus vulnerable to violent nonstate actors.

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  • Galgano, Francis. “Effective Sovereignty and Western Pakistan.” In Understanding Pakistan through Human and Environmental Systems. Edited by Laurel J. Hummel and Richard L. Wolfel, 271–304. Carlisle, PA: United States Army War College, 2011.

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    A geographic analysis of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Western Pakistan, effective sovereignty doctrine in the Afghan Theater of Operations, and the spatiality of the so-called drone war.

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  • Hoffman, Michael H. “Rescuing the Law of War: A Way Forward in an Era of Global Terrorism.” Parameters 35.2 (2005): 18–34.

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    An examination of the development of the law of warfare in an era of non-state-centric threats.

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  • Roggio, Bill, and Alexander Mayer. “Charting the Data for US Airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004–2013.” Long War Journal (2007–2013).

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    An excellent data source that provides a spatial and temporal catalogue of the drone war in western Pakistan and Afghanistan. Numerous graphs supported by excellent analyses. The best open-source data available.

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  • Rosenthal, Joel. “New Rules for War?” Naval War College Review 57.3–4 (2004): 91–101.

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    Reviews the established diplomatic norms between sovereign states and dissects the requirement for new protocols in the context of the emergent national security landscape.

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  • US Agency for International Development. Fragile States Strategy. PD-ACA-999. Washington, DC: US Agency for International Development, 2005.

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    Not all elements of effective sovereignty doctrine demand a military response. This report examines diplomatic and economic solutions to the problem of effective sovereignty doctrine.

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  • US Department of State. Country Reports on Terrorism 2007. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 2008.

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    A regional examination of states and places that serve as nodes for global terrorism.

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Military Operations Other Than War

Differing demands have been made on military forces, especially Western ones, since the end of the Cold War. One of these areas has been in increase in so-called peace operations or operations other than war that are intended to promote stability. Military operations other than war (MOOTW) comprise the use of military capabilities and forces across a wide range of operations that fall short of war, and they can be divided into stability and support operations. These operations have been employed throughout history, but their use has increased since the end of the Cold War. MOOTW focuses on preventing violent confrontations, resolving conflict, promoting peace, and supporting civil authorities, but may also involve elements of combat operations. Geographers and military geographers have an important perspective from which to examine this category of military functions. Ramsbotham 1994 is a compelling analysis of the dynamics that have changed the traditional role of military forces and the expansion of operations other than war. Anderson 1994 offers a comprehensive review of the extent and evolution of MOOTW. Anderson 2000 provides a geography of hazard analysis and the use of military forces in disaster relief operations. Binnendijk 1998 traces the growth of MOOTW and tenders a projection into the new millennium. Gouré 1995 discusses, from a geographic perspective, the scope of peace operations. Whitman 1994 is an early study that examines the potential problems associated with using military forces in humanitarian operations. Dobbins, et al. 2007 offers a methodological assessment of the requirements associated with nation-building, one of the key and highly controversial elements of contemporary MOOTW.

  • Anderson, Ewan W. “The Changing Role of the Military.” Editorial. GeoJournal 34.2 (1994): 131–132.

    DOI: 10.1007/BF00813817Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Review of the development of operations other than war from a geographic perspective. Available online for purchase or by subscription.

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  • Anderson, Ewan W. “The Geography of Hazard Analysis: Disaster Management and the Military.” In The Scope of Military Geography: Across the Spectrum from Peacetime to War. Edited by Eugene J. Palka and Francis A. Galgano, 215–228. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000.

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    Classification of environmental hazards and the scope of military intervention. Geographic analyses of hazards and attendant vulnerability. Employs a case study of the Maharashtra earthquake.

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  • Binnendijk, H., ed. Strategic Assessment: Flashpoints and Force Structure. Washington, DC: Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University, 1998.

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    A series of essays that trace the changing nature of conflict and demands on military forces following the end of the Cold War. Essays examine various MOOTW categories and offer a prospectus of future demands.

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  • Dobbins, James, Seth Jones, Keith Crane, and Beth Cole DeGrasse. The Beginner’s Guide to Nation-Building. Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2007.

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    A pioneering assessment of the basic requirements of nation-building. It offers a perspective of one of the more compelling and controversial aspects of MOOTW.

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  • Gouré, Daniel. “Non-lethal Force and Peace Operations.” GeoJournal 37.2 (1995): 267–275.

    DOI: 10.1007/BF00816799Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    A summary of the categories and types of MOOTW. This paper offers a geographic perspective of operations that require military units to use nonlethal force. Available online for purchase or by subscription.

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  • Ramsbotham, David. “The Changing Role of the Military.” GeoJournal 34.2 (1994): 133–134.

    DOI: 10.1007/BF00813818Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    An early and authoritative editorial that traces the evolution of military doctrines in the area of MOOTW following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Available online for purchase or by subscription.

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  • Whitman, Jim. “A Cautionary Note on Humanitarian Intervention.” GeoJournal 34.2 (1994): 167–175.

    DOI: 10.1007/BF00813822Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    The use of military forces has engendered a series of unintended consequences notwithstanding noble purpose. A serious examination of the potential problems that may beset MOOTW. Available online for purchase or by subscription.

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Asymmetrical Warfare

The emergent security landscape has witnessed the ascent of global and regional threats without borders or fixed bases. This reality has given rise to the doctrine of asymmetric warfare, which is conflict between belligerents whose relative military power and operational methods differ significantly. This is in contrast to symmetric warfare, within which opposing powers are typically state-centric and have similar military capabilities. Asymmetric warfare commonly defines violent conflict between traditional states and nonstate actors and includes guerrilla warfare, insurgency, cyber warfare, and terrorism. These types of warfare have, for the most part, historically persisted on the security landscape; however, they have clearly manifested themselves in the immediate post–Cold War period. Military geography offers a powerful and compelling perspective from which to examine this evolution in military conflict, and geographers have been at the forefront in the available literature. McColl 1969 is the seminal geographic analysis of insurgent methods and operations. Lohman 2000 traces the various literature on counterinsurgency operations and offers an excellent case study from the Dhofar region of Oman. Cutter, et al. 2003 includes a series of essays that demonstrate the scope of vulnerabilities to asymmetric threats. Gregory and Pred 2007 uses case studies to examine the historical geography of places that are currently susceptible to terrorist movements. Libicki 2000 discusses a possible reevaluation of the rules of warfare in light of emergent nonstate threats. Rich and Stubbs 1997 traces the origins of urban conflicts in a rapidly urbanizing world, and examine these places as nodes for terrorism and regional instability. Tucker 1999 examines US strategic assessments of asymmetric threats. Wilson 1998 is an outstanding pre-9/11 analysis of potential terrorist threats. Bunker 2014 examines the problems associated with state-based military power and its limitations in dealing with violent nonstate actors.

  • Bunker, Robert J. “Defeating Violent Nonstate Actors.” Parameters 43.4 (2014): 57–65.

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    The relationship between modern state-level land power and its limitations when dealing with violent nonstate actors.

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  • Cutter, Susan L., Douglas B. Richardson, and Thomas J. Wilbanks, eds. The Geographical Dimensions of Terrorism. New York: Routledge, 2003.

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    A series of essays by leading geographers that examine all aspects of terrorism (e.g., bioterrorism, urban terrorism, strikes on economic targets, and attacks on food and water supplies). Features sophisticated mapping and spatial analyses.

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  • Gregory, Derek, and Allan Pred. Violent Geographies: Fear, Terror, and Political Violence. New York: Routledge, 2007.

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    Incisive collection of geographical essays that examine the complexity of asymmetrical warfare and political violence across five continents. Uses case studies to explore the historical past of places and regions to understand better the modern conditions that foster terrorism.

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  • Libicki, Martin. “Rethinking War: The Mouse’s New Roar?” Foreign Policy 117 (2000): 30–43.

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    An excellent review of the need to reevaluate the rules of war in light of the emergence of asymmetrical warfare and non-state-centric threats. Available online for purchase or by subscription.

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  • Lohman, Andrew D. “Insurgencies and Counter-Insurgencies.” In The Scope of Military Geography: Across the Spectrum from Peacetime to War. Edited by Eugene J. Palka and Francis A. Galgano, 263–290. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000.

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    An excellent geographic analysis of the dynamics of insurgencies. Uses a case study from the Dhofar region of Oman to demonstrate the geographic dimensions of a successful counterinsurgency operation.

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  • McColl, Robert W. “The Insurgent State: Territorial Bases of Revolution.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 59.4 (1969): 613–631.

    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8306.1969.tb01803.xSave Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Dated, but perhaps the seminal geographical examination of the spatial dimensions and dynamics of insurgents and insurgent operations. A must-read article for students of asymmetrical warfare. Available online for purchase or by subscription.

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  • Rich, Paul B., and Richard Stubbs, eds. The Counter-Insurgent State, Guerilla Warfare and State Building in the Twentieth Century. New York: St. Martin’s, 1997.

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    Traces the diverse origins of urban conflicts and identifies similarities and differences in the methods of counterinsurgent forces. This is a detailed comparative analysis that examines key examples of urban guerrilla conflict spanning half a century and four continents.

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  • Tucker, Jonathan. “Asymmetric Warfare.” Forum for Applied Research and Policy 14.2 (1999): 32–38.

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    A terrific account of the extent of asymmetric warfare as an emergent threat that poses a significant danger to the security of the United States. Provides an excellent review of US strategic assessments of potential terrorist threats.

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  • Wilson, Peter. “Asymmetric Threats.” In 1998 Strategic Assessment: Engaging Power for Peace. Edited by Hans Binnendijk, 230–243. Washington, DC: Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University, 1998.

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    An early assessment of asymmetric threats as part of a wide-ranging strategic assessment. A prescient geographic—and pre–11 September 2001—evaluation.

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Geospatial Methods and Technologies

From the very first organized military action, military leaders have sought the ability to “see the terrain.” In this regard, geography is a very powerful discipline. Geographers invented, perfected, and use a variety of geospatial methods and tools that are valuable for strategic assessments and the study of terrain. Geographers use maps for planning operations and navigation, aerial photographs and other remotely sensed images to study terrain and resources, and GIS and other geospatial tools and methods to develop data and analyses, all of which have proven essential. The ability to plan and conduct combat operations and MOOTW is predicated on geographic technologies to provide essential geospatial data. Corson and Palka 2004 is an overview of modern geospatial technologies used by military forces. Mang and Häusler 2006 includes a series of twenty-three essays by international authors devoted to geospatial methods and technologies. Martel 2001 presents an analysis of the scope of emerging geospatial capabilities available to US forces. Beck 2003 provides a case study from Afghanistan, which explains how GIS and remote sensing may be used to support counterterrorism operations. Gross, et al. 2004 demonstrates how geospatial methods support operations against underground installations. O’Loughlin, et al. 2010 is an excellent example of a geospatial methodology that explains the clustering of violence in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.

  • Beck, Richard. “Remote Sensing and GIS as Counterterrorism Tools in the Afghanistan War: A Case Study of the Zhawar Kili Region.” Professional Geographer 55.2 (2003): 170–179.

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    A powerful case study that demonstrates the value of remote sensing and GIS in counterterrorism operations. Available online for purchase or by subscription.

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  • Corson, Mark W., and Eugene J. Palka. “Geo-technology, the U.S. Military, and War.” In Geography and Technology. Edited by Stanley D. Brunn, Susan L. Cutter, and J. W. Harrington, 401–428. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic, 2004.

    DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4020-2353-8Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    This chapter explains the various geospatial technologies available to US forces and how they are used to plan and conduct military operations.

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  • Gross, Michael R., Kajari Ghosh, Alex K. Manda, and Dean Whitman. “A GIS-Based Spatial Analysis of Caves and Solution Cavities: Application to Predicting Cave Occurrence in Limestone Terrain.” In Studies in Military Geography and Geology. Edited by Douglas Caldwell, Judy Ehlen, and Russell S. Harmon, 287–306. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic, 2004.

    DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4020-3105-2Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Warfare in subterranean environments is a growing problem on the emergent military landscape. This paper explains how GIS may be employed to analyze caves and other subterranean structures.

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  • Mang, Reinhard, and Hermann Häusler, eds. International Handbook of Military Geography. Vienna: Arbeitsgemeinschaft Truppendienst, 2006.

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    An extensive and comprehensive collection of essays that explain various geospatial tools, technologies, and methods that support combat operations and MOOTW. Essays explore topics such as mapping, GIS, remote sensing, digital elevation models, and spectral analyses.

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  • Martel, William C., ed. The Technological Arsenal: Emerging Defense Capabilities. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 2001.

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    A compelling summary and analysis of the arsenal of geospatial tools and technologies available to US forces to support operations, especially in support of asymmetrical operations.

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  • O’Loughlin, John, Frank D. W. Witmer, and Andrew M. Linke. “The Afghanistan-Pakistan Wars, 2008–2009: Micro-geographies, Conflict Diffusion, and Clusters of Violence.” Eurasian Geography and Economics 51.4 (2010): 437–471.

    DOI: 10.2747/1539-7216.51.4.437Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    A compelling geospatial analysis of clusters of violence in the Afghanistan-Pakistan Theater of Operations. Uses spatial analyses to explain clusters of violence and key elements of the human landscape.

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