Afghanistan talks. Experiential isomorphism in the military / Joseph L. Soeters -- Introduction / Gerhard Kmmel -- European civilmilitary relations in transition : the decline of conscription / Karl W. Haltiner, Tibor Szvircsev Tresch -- News from the home front : communities supporting military families / René Moelker, Gabriélla Poot, Manon Andres, Ljubica Jeluic, Jelena Juvan, Leena Parmar, Maren Tomforde -- Attitudes and opportunities : self-selection and anticipatory socialization effects in youth perceptions of the military / Stephen C. Trainor -- The military and civil society in Korea / Doo-Seung Hong -- Military organization and asymmetric conflicts : changing approach / Eraldo Olivetta -- Hidden agenda in Paraguay : the dilemma of external democratization through U.S. military co-operation / Anke Schnemann -- Military and politics in south and central America : the self-perceptions of the armed forces in Latin America / Tony Krönert -- Introduction / Giuseppe Caforio -- Language matters in the military / Andrea van Dijk, Joseph L. Soeters -- Introduction / Bandana Purkayastha -- The impact of counterterrorism and strain on Palestinian terrorism / Maya Beasley -- Communal conflict, state failure, and peacebuilding : the case of Ambon, Indonesia / Iwan Gardono Sudjatmiko -- National business, civil war abatement and peacebuilding / Syed Mansoob Murshed -- National youth service : an institution for building and sustaining peace / Donald J. Eberly -- Building and sustaining the fabric of peace : notes from the field / Bandana Purkayastha -- The impact of asymmetric warfare on the military profession and structure : lessons learned from the Ottoman military / A. Kadir Varoglu, Mesut Uyar -- Dr. Strangelove or how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb : suicide attacks in asymmetric warfare / Gerhard Kmmel -- The asymmetric warfare : in search of a symmetry / Giuseppe Caforio -- Use and impact of information-communication technology in modern conflict : the war in Iraq / Uro Svete -- Terrorism and security in the caribbean before and after 9/11 / Dion E. Phillips -- General Introduction / Giuseppe Caforio, Bandana Purkayastha, Gerhard Kmmel Editors.

The study of armed forces and conflict resolution has undergone important developments at the turn of the millennium, driven by emerging events. The fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of the Cold War, the resurgence of nationalism and religious wars, ethnic cleansing, September Eleven, the War on Terror, and asymmetric warfare, the United Nations' inability to manage and successfully conclude military operations, are so many flash points of how much things have changed since the Cold War. The action of militaries has become more important, more difficult, more controversial, and, at the same time, insufficient, without parallel methods and political actions for resolving conflicts.As scholars conceptions of conflicts have changed, so have their understanding of conflict resolution and peace. This latter scholarship now spans analyses of the role of governments, civil institutions, and organized groups. The studies of building and sustaining peace now span institutional, inter-actional, and interpersonal levels in order to conceptualize a more holistic, long-term vision of peace.This book brings together contributions from scholars of various social science disciplines on three themes that appeared significant for the study of the phenomenon of conflict and conflict resolution. The first theme is centered on the new aspects of war in the twenty-first century where asymmetric warfare has changed many rules of the game, imposing a profound transformation on the military, not only tactical, but also structural, preparatory, mental and ideological.The second theme regards the delicate relations between the armed forces and societies. The ever-greater technicality of military operations and their lower comprehensibility to the broad public as a result, together with increased sensitivity in many countries in regard to the use of violence and death, have created social situations and problems that deserve to be investigated. The third theme, building and sustaining peace, operationalizes different types and levels of violence and conflict. It assesses ongoing efforts, for instance, governments trying to contain or diffuse conflict, businesses and national service schemes building peaceful civil spheres, and the efforts of organized groups to claim, shape, and extend the spheres of life that are free of conflict.

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