The Illusion Of Victory

The True Costs of Modern War

Ian Bickerton
Winner, History Book, QLD Premier’s Literary Awards, 2011
Winner, Nettie Palmer Prize for Non-Fiction, VIC Premier's Literary Awards, 2011
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The Illusion Of Victory

Published

1 April 2011

ISBN

9780522856156

Pages

400

Imprint

Melbourne University Press

The Illusion Of Victory

The True Costs of Modern War

Ian Bickerton
Winner, History Book, QLD Premier’s Literary Awards, 2011
Winner, Nettie Palmer Prize for Non-Fiction, VIC Premier's Literary Awards, 2011
The Illusion of Victory demonstrates that most of the rewards of victory in modern warfare are either exaggerated or false.
The Illusion of Victory demonstrates that most of the rewards of victory in modern warfare are either exaggerated or false. When the ostensible benefits of victory are examined a generation after a war, it becomes inescapably evident that the defeated belligerent rarely conforms to the demands and expectations of the victor. Consequently, long-term political and military stability is denied to both the victorious power and to the defeated one. As a result, neither victory nor defeat deter further outbreaks of war. This sobering reality is increasingly the case in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Ian Bickerton persuasively argues that as the rhetoric of victory becomes more hollow all countries must adopt creative new approaches to resolving disputes.
The Illusion of Victory demonstrates that most of the rewards of victory in modern warfare are either exaggerated or false. When the ostensible benefits of victory are examined a generation after a war, it becomes inescapably evident that the defeated belligerent rarely conforms to the demands and expectations of the victor. Consequently, long-term political and military stability is denied to both the victorious power and to the defeated one. As a result, neither victory nor defeat deter further outbreaks of war. This sobering reality is increasingly the case in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Ian Bickerton persuasively argues that as the rhetoric of victory becomes more hollow all countries must adopt creative new approaches to resolving disputes.

Ian Bickerton

Ian Bickerton

Ian J. Bickerton is Visiting Senior Research Fellow in the School of History and Philosophy at the University of New South Wales, Sydney. He is internationally known for his writings on the Arab-Israeli Conflict, and he recently co-authored Unintended Consequences: The United States at War.

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