Command: the twenty-first-century general

"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"--

"It would be convenient to claim that a book on command exemplified its own subject matter and that this work executed a clear, coherent research plan with military precision. The reality was quite different. Having completed The Combat Soldier in 2012 (to be published the following year), I fully intended to return to the topic of warfare and the armed forces but only after I had completed a long contemplated project on social theory and on the question of social change, in particular"--

Command in the twenty-first century -- The division -- Defining command -- Twentieth-century operations -- Twentieth-century commander -- Leadership -- The counter-insurgents -- Kandahar -- The march up -- The new headquarters -- Distributing command -- The decision point -- The crisis -- The command collective.