Review: Arms and Doctrine: Offense and Defense in the International System
| Author | A. MacLaren |
| Date | 01 September 1978 |
| Published date | 01 September 1978 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070207803300310 |
| Subject Matter | Review |
622
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL
aries
fighting
not
one
but
two
devils,
the
domestic
regime
as
the
local
exponent, and
the
United
States
as
the
global
supporter,
of
the
present-
day
mixed
economy
-
in
their
terminology,
the 'capitalist'
and
'imperial-
ist'
system.
This
sounds
very
cold-blooded;
it
just
does
not
fit
into
the
popular
picture
of
the
wild-eyed,
fuzzy,
and
misguided,
but
essentially
idealistic
young
revolutionary.
There
is
much
to
be
said
for
Halperin's
explana-
tion
though. Frustration/aggression
is
a
syndrome
well
known
to
psy-
chology.
It
is
one
that
may well
direct
the
actions
of
a
youth
who
are
over-educated
for
the
kind
of
jobs
available.
It
is
only
one
explanation,
though, and
perhaps
not
the
most
con-
vincing.
There
is
also
the
proposition
that
the
urban
terrorism
indulged
in
by
a
youth
that,
while
it
may
suffer
psychologically, has
not
suffered
and
is
not
suffering physically
is
'revolution
as
a
theatre,'
a
spectacular
means
of
self-expression,
an
aesthetic
exercise
as
it
were.
Clutterbuck
touches
upon
this
view
when
he
says
that
there
would
be
no
urban
terrorism
if
there
was
no
publicity
through
the
media,
above
all
through
television.
This
is
one
of
the
two
main
reasons
-
the
other
is
the
brutality
of
the
means
of
suppression,
including
the
common
use
of
torture
-
why
there
is
so
little
urban
terrorism
in
the
dictatorships
of
this
world.
Clutterbuck's
book
ends
with
some
advice
on
how
to
minimize
the
disadvantages
liberal
democracies
face
when
fighting
guerillas
and
ter-
rorism.
His points
are
well
taken,
but
if
our
societies
want to
remain
free
they
will
simply
have
to
suffer
the
penalties
that
go
with
being
civilized.
John
Gellner/York
University
OFFENSE
AND
DEFENSE
IN
THE
INTERNATIONAL
SYSTEM
George
H.
Quester
New
York:
John
Wiley,
1977,
xiv,
2
19pp,
$10.95
cloth,
$6.95
paper
In
this
book,
Professor
Quester
gives
us
a
brief
survey
of
what
is
a
very
large
subject
-
offence
and
defence
in
the
international
system.
The
book
scans
military
history
from
the
Greeks
and
Romans
through
feudal
Europe,
the
emergence
of
balance
of power,
the
First World War,
Sec-
ond
World War, and
so
to
the
nuclear
age
with
its
mutual
assured
de-
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