Book Review

Paolo Gerbaudo’s Tweets and the Streets: Social Media and Contemporary Activism is a fascinating and evocative book that is based on the author’s grass-roots experiences during the January 2011 uprising against Mubarak in Egypt, the May 2011 indignados protest in Spain, and the September 2011 Occupy Wall Street movements. He uses his findings to challenge techno-optimists, pessimists, and contemporary social movement mainstream theories. Gerbaudo, Director of the Centre for Digital Culture, argues that techno-theorists do not consider how the use of technology differs based on geography and culture. He contends in his theory of “choreography of assembly” that social media aids in setting the foundations of the nature and type of movement where “soft” leaders emerge within social media communication to guide the emotional and physical nature of a social movement.  

A Mongolian Special Forces officer reviews Otto C. Fiala's "Resistance Operating Concept"

A review of David Kilcullen's new book on how U.S. adversaries (state and non-state) have adapted to be more effective at competition with the U.S.-led international system

"A Military History of the Modern Middle East" represents a new offering by James Brian McNabb.

Christopher Nolan's "Dunkirk" mimics Eric Maria Remarque’s "All Quiet on the Western Front" matter-of-fact depiction of war, down to a boot.

In his book, "Chinese Intelligence Operations", Nicholas Eftimiades states that the “lucrative field of espionage…is highly suited to the People’s Republic of China".

"Al-Qaeda’s Revenge" is a thoroughly researched and well-presented case study on the evolution of the 3/11 network. 

Mirroring the structure of the book, this review highlights some oddities in acknowledgements and abbreviations before discussing Moghadam’s model of terrorist cooperation.

Continue on for a SWJ book review of “Dog Company: A True Story of American Soldiers Abandoned by Their High Command”.