Payne supplements his discussion of extensions of the state poised to inflict first principles with useful tables compar- violence. Preexisting inequalities cre- ing policies and their outcomes based ate friction, promote division, diminish on the fundamental positions outlined. organizational cohesion, and undercut These comparisons will aid the novice battlefield performance to varying and the expert alike and reveal that de- degrees. Military inequality, a measur- terrence discourse is not necessarily as able construct introduced by Lyall, is a burdened with nuance as some cottage function of identity as it relates to group industrialists assumed. The clarity of this membership and relational standing comparative work goes hand in hand with within the political community weighted the dutifully researched and well-sourced by inclusion, discrimination, or repres- argumentation. Payne’s sweeping com- sion. This concept includes all group mand of the full constellation of political members who enjoy full standing, those science and deterrence theory literature who are marginalized, those who suffer makes him an excellent guide through sanctioned discrimination, and those who the undergrowth-cluttered forest, beyond experience collective repression. Lyall’s which one must see in order to home in extensive, detailed, and well-crafted book on essential principle. effectively demonstrates the validity of his Shadows on the Wall provides the hypothesis and how high levels of military reader with a rare occurrence—a clear inequality negatively affects battlefield view of the fundamental principles that performance. Armies rife with politically form the basis of deterrence discourse. sanctioned inequalities, therefore, are Payne does the entire field a service Divided Armies: Inequality flawed by their very design. by acknowledging that there is a lot of and Battlefield Performance The evidence Lyall presents is original undergrowth to be removed if one is to in Modern War and compelling. The opening chapter understand the essence of what might overviews the genesis of his thinking By Jason Lyall otherwise seem to be a bewildering array while detailing essential concepts, terms, Princeton University Press, 2020 of nuanced policy choices. Joint force and definitions. The balance of the book, 528 pp. $35.00 policymakers, planners, and national se- eight chapters and two appendices, is ISBN: 978-0691192444 curity practitioners would be wise to take organized under three major headings: up this book and absorb its first principles Reviewed by Larry D. Miller “Theory and Initial Evidence,” “Historic before any other that claims to expand on Battlefield Evidence, and “Extensions the merits or demerits of nuclear deter- and Conclusions.” The chapters pres- rence and disarmament policy. JFQ hy armies win wars or suffer ent detailed historiography, quantitative battlefield defeats has long analyses of data drawn from Project Mars, W piqued the curiosity and and case studies purposefully selected Dr. John Mark Mattox is a Senior Research Fellow interest of military historians, war plan- to challenge and assess the strength in the Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction, Institute for National Strategic ners, and strategists alike. Theorists of his argument from various angles. Studies, at the National Defense University. commonly attribute military effective- Project Mars, the culmination of a 7-year ness (or not) to force ratios, firepower, research effort, documents direct force- technological superiority, material/ on-force conflicts between 1800 and resourcing advantages, or exceptional 2011. Building the Project Mars database leadership (possibly aided by surprise required the support and expertise of 134 or dumb luck). Jason Lyall, however, coders tracking primary documents and advances a groundbreaking analysis for secondary sources across 21 languages. understanding who wins, who loses, The goal was to construct a global and why. In the process, he suggests military database documenting armed equality as a key element in better conflicts in the modern era. Containing designing military forces positioned for 825 observations of belligerence, the battlefield success. database complements, and will possibly His argument is that political com- supersede, portions of the Correlates of munities necessarily and invariably import War Project database. existing ethnic, racial, religious, and/or Throughout the book, Lyall employs societal hierarchies into military organiza- statistical analyses and historiography—a tions—organizations that are political potent combination of quantitative and

JFQ 99, 4th Quarter 2020 Book Reviews 145 qualitative methods—to assess cross-na- the case data; however, the conclusions tional military inequality against measures are applicable across the joint force. of battlefield performance. Hypothesized Regardless, the book is well-written expectations include, for example, that and worth the intellectual bandwidth as the coefficient of force inequality required to parse through the meticulous increases, tactical and operational sophis- research. tication will decrease, battlefield fatalities The joint force will find much to con- will increase, defections will increase, and sider in Divided Armies as the national coercion and fratricidal violence within security enterprise adjusts to confront the force will rise. 21st-century challenges. Lyall’s work Lyall’s detailing of a well-researched suggests inclusivity as a way forward, conflict in the latter 1800s is particularly especially in uncertain times. The future illustrative and serves as a preliminary test of war is unknown in many respects, but of his hypothesis. In brief, Muhammad absent full-on technological destruction, Ahmad (known as the Mahdi) built one can predict that the tensions between an inclusive and egalitarian political globalization and nationalism will con- community from diverse tribes, clans, tinue, variously propelling and repelling and ethnic groups in what is primar- the desirability of diversity within national ily present-day Sudan. He assembled and international communities. Yet Lyall an army that defeated Egyptian and has convincingly demonstrated that the Anglo-Egyptian forces during the first most successful armies will not only be di- Mahdist war (1881–1885). Following verse, but they will also embrace diversity the Mahdi’s early and unexpected death as strength and use that strength to repel Command: The Twenty- in 1885, his successor initiated sweeping and defeat armies unable to overcome First-Century General changes that infused poisonous identity their own inequalities. JFQ By Anthony King politics into the community. Some tribes Cambridge University Press, 2019 and ethnic groups were favored, some 504 pp. $79.99 were not, and some experienced state- Dr. Larry D. Miller is the Director and Professor of Communicative Arts at the U.S. Army War ISBN: 978-1108476409 sanctioned repression. In due course, College. the Anglo-Egyptian forces returned and Reviewed by Allan R. Millet claimed a resounding victory during the second Mahdist war (1896–1899). Numerous accounts for this reversal of ommand is two loosely con- events exist, including arguments about nected books. One book is about improved weaponry and technologi- C generalship in combat in the 21st cal advantages that favored the British. century with a focus on hybrid con- Lyall’s careful matching of covariates flicts. The second is about imagining and contextual variables, however, along generalship as a collective enterprise with insights from primary and secondary and the challenges of employing a source material, successfully illustrates division of differently sized units with the “relationship between inequality and unique capabilities. A division might battlefield performance.” be limited to units that shoot and Divided Armies is an inviting and destroy and heavy in units that simply challenging read, one that necessitates collect and process information with and rewards thoughtful investment. such speed that no single commander Readers who are unfamiliar with notions could possibly make timely decisions. of independent variables, covariates, Drawing on his prior work on unit paired comparisons, and regression cohesion and military culture as a analysis may find some elements of the British army contractor, Dr. Anthony discussion obscure and possibly off- King offers an updated look at gener- putting despite the author’s solid and alship and division command for an generally successful efforts to deliver increasingly complex battlefield. a book with minimal technical jargon. Command provides a review of how Some will also undoubtedly critique the ground combat divisions developed from emphasis on land-based operations in World War I to the present, spiced with

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