{"product_id":"the-dragons-and-the-snakes-david-kilcullen-9780190265687","title":"The Dragons and the Snakes: How the Rest Learned to Fight the West","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eA counterintuitive examination into how, and what, opponents of the West have learned during the last quarter-century of conflict.\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eJust two decades ago, observers spoke of the US as a \"hyperpower\"--a nation with more relative power than any empire in history. Yet as early as 1993, CIA director James Woolsey pointed out that although Western powers had \"slain a large dragon\" by defeating the Soviet Union, they now faced a \"bewildering variety of poisonous snakes.\" In \u003cem\u003eThe Dragons and the Snakes\u003c\/em\u003e, the eminent soldier-scholar David Kilcullen asks how, and what, opponents of the West have learned during the last quarter-century of conflict. Applying a combination of evolutionary theory and detailed field observation, he explains what happened to the \"snakes\"--non-state threats including terrorists and guerrillas--and the \"dragons\"--state-based competitors such as Russia and China. He explores how enemies learn under conditions of conflict, and examines how Western dominance over a very particular, narrowly-defined form of warfare since the Cold War has created a fitness landscape that forces adversaries to adapt in ways that present serious new challenges to America and its allies. Within the world's contemporary conflict zones, state and non-state threats have increasingly come to resemble each other, with states adopting non-state techniques and non-state actors now able to access lethal weapon systems once only available to governments. A counterintuitive look at a vastly more complex conflict environment, this book both reshapes our understanding of the West's adversaries and shows how we can respond given the increasing limits on US power.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e David Kilcullen\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 019026568X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780190265687\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Oxford University Press, USA\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/03\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 336\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.35lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.40h x 6.40w x 1.30d","brand":"David Kilcullen","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44072165703935,"sku":"9780190265687","price":29.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_12dd3cf0-0afc-4758-a21a-9bd36f60f891.jpg?v=1685440344","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-dragons-and-the-snakes-david-kilcullen-9780190265687","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}