The Western Way of War - Essay Example

? Western way of war Introduction Warfare has been in the face of the world since time immemorial. Human beings have taken part in war for many years for both offence and defense. Different regions have different mechanisms of war. Moreover, some nations have more sophisticated war methods as compared to the other nations. It is from these differences that renown author Geoffrey Parker wrote a book titled, ‘’The Western Way of War’’. My discussion will illustrate the concepts that Parker puts across in his work. I further analyze the ways in which Parker’s tenets of the Western Way of War have influenced the US’ war on Iraq and Afghanistan. From the fifteenth century, the role of the Western military has been to propagate and uplift the cultures of the western nations.  Writers of various genres of military history had a variety of reasons for writing about military life.  Three factors have contributed to the excellence of the western military over those of the neighboring non-European nations and the Americas. First of all, widespread politicization and acceptance of Christianity in the western world contributed to this. Later, the industrial revolution led to innovations in military technology.  Finally, there was imposition of Western cultures into the non-western word through means such as trade and colonialism. Currently, the imposition occurs through western globalization. Therefore, these three factors have played a role in the western world’s military dominance. This has led to the phenomenon referred to as, Eurocentric Supremacy1. Military historians who describe the phenomenon of Eurocentric Supremacy explained that many non-Europeans were compelled to convert to Christianity.  The first military officer to convert to Christianity was Constantine. He paved way for the conversion of others to Christianity.  These events revealed the interplay between Christianity and the military personnel in the west.  Since that event, Christianity became a state religion. It was a culture that was embraced by the western nations. They considered it to be part of their life, and it guided their military activities. From the Christian belief, anyone that accepts Christians is destined to be the ruler of the world.  This is the basis of Christianity. It, therefore, led to numerous military attacks and campaigns by the western military. A great number of military attacks resulted from conflicts between the Orthodox Church and Christianity.   The western military took its campaigns outside their jurisdiction. This phenomenon led to widespread colonization of other nations by the west and the norm of slave trade. At this time, the other nations had the difficulty in opposing the western colonies because the western colonies were well equipped due to the dominant industrial revolution and innovation. It is, therefore, clear that the spread and development of Christianity throughout the western nations contributed to the Euro-centrism that was typical of the Western military. The technological advancements and innovations that resulted from the western industrial revolution all led to a supremacy in the western military’s mechanisms of war2.  In his work concerning the advent of technology and modern war, Martin Van Creveld illustrates the point of technology that was typical of the western way of life. Creveld quips that the modern war is adversely infiltrated by technology. He further adds that technology has now governed war. This he attributes to the western culture which has ensured that the principles of war have been upheld since time immemorial. The western power has experienced invincibility from the past. This is due to the fact that the western word is motivated towards usage of technology in war either at the beginning of the war or at the middle and end of the war. The western world also has unyielding thirst in its quest to discover newer forms of technology that will improve its war and military activities. These are the factors that have all along made the western military be praised by most authors who base their work on military activities. For example, Jeremy Black, in the book, European Warfare 1600-1815, explains the change in the superiority between nations. This, he explains, is largely due to technological superiority between the Western world and the non-Western world. An example is the continued victories in war of Austrians over the Turks in the war of 1714. Parker uses the term military revolution to refer to the transition period that occurred when the western military began to be superior to the other military teams3. Previously, these other militaries had the same power as the military of the west. But, a time reaches when a disparity sets in. An example of such a country that used to have the same military prowess as the western military is the Turkish army. The author notes that a military balance between the ‘’West’’ and ‘’East” had now been reached. He further notes that as a result of this, the western war will graduate into dominance. Subsequently, it will start dominating war activities in the global arena. Later, the US joins the clique of the Western world. Together with the western European powers, they win a myriad of battles against the non-Western world opponents of the world. This included the military personnel in the other regions such as Asia, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa. By as early as 1914, 84% of these territories that were non-western were under the rule of European colonization and rule.   However, the continuing investment in technology, which generated a greater need for the Western powers to go farther into the world to acquire raw materials and, therefore, necessitated a continuing need for the refinement of military technology, contributed to the belief that the Western way of war was supreme, unstoppable, and invincible4.  Relationship with the US’ activities in the Middle East The attack of Iraq and Afghanistan by US forces follows Parker’s tenets. The US and its allies belong to the Western world while Iraq and Afghanistan belong to the non-Western world military nations. The military operations of the US are further sophisticated and more innovative. The US together with Britain has managed to contain the military insurgency in these two Middle East countries effectively. Another important point to note is that, according to parker’s Western Way of War, the western world believed that Christianity added more power to their military activities. It also made them stronger. There is religion juxtaposition between the Middle East countries and the western world. While the western government has majorly Christian values, the Middle East has a military that operates based on Islamic values. This has affected the attacks in some way because the war is a rebellion between two religious movements. The Western world, therefore, combines Christianity and innovation in order to be an excellent military force . References Hanson, Victor Davis. Carnage and culture: landmark battles in the rise of Western power. \ Indiana: Anchor, 2002. James M. Ehrman, Kansas State University. Ways of war and the American experience in the ] China-Burma-India theater, 1942--1945. New York: Kansas State University, 2006. GLICK, CAROLINE. "Column One: The Western way of war." The Jerusalem Post, 2010: 2-3. Skelly, Patrick G. "Evolution in 'The Western Way of War':Continuity, Punctuated Equilibrium, Neither ?" 2009: 3. Read More