British International Studies Association

About: British International Studies Association is a nonprofit organization based out in Aberystwyth, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: International relations & Politics. The organization has 4 authors who have published 6 publications receiving 136 citations. The organization is also known as: BISA.

Campaign disconnect: operational progress and strategic obstacles in Afghanistan, 2009–2011

Abstract: Success in war depends on alignment between operations and strategy. Commonly, such alignment takes time as civilian and military leaders assess the effectiveness of operations and adjust them to ensure that strategic objectives are achieved. This article assesses prospects for the US-led campaign in Afghanistan. Drawing on extensive field research, the authors find that significant progress has been made at the operational level in four key areas: the approach to counterinsurgency operations, development of Afghan security forces, growth of Afghan sub-national governance and military momentum on the ground. However, the situation is bleak at the strategic level. The article identifies three strategic obstacles to campaign success: corruption in Afghan national government, war-weariness in NATO countries and insurgent safe havens in Pakistan. These strategic problems require political developments that are beyond the capabilities of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). In other words, further progress at the operational level will not bring ‘victory’. It concludes, therefore, that there is an operational-strategic disconnect at the heart of the ISAF campaign.

The Taliban at War: Inside the Helmand Insurgency, 2004-2012

Abstract: In seeking to explain why and how the war in Afghanistan has dragged on, most analysis has focused on the western and Afghan government effort In this article, we examine how the war looks from the perspective of the insurgency Using Helmand province as a case-study, we draw on a large number of original interviews with Taliban field commanders and fighters to produce a uniquely detailed picture of the Taliban at war In the first section, we explore how the Taliban returned to Helmand from 2004 to 2006, and show how the British made the situation far worse when they deployed forces to Helmand in 2006 In the second part of the article we examine the evolution of the Taliban insurgency in Helmand since 2006 We show how the Taliban has developed an increasingly centralized organizational structure, a more militarized shadow government and greater professionalism of field units The overall picture that emerges is of a resilient insurgency that has adapted under immense military pressure The Taliban have suffered very heavy attrition in Helmand, but they are far from defeated

Apocalypse now? Continuities or disjunctions in world politics after 9/11

Abstract: This article argues that the widespread assumption that the events of world politics since 9/11 represent a radical break in world politics is incorrect. It goes on to argue, first, that world politics since 9/11 displays far more continuities than disjunctions and, second, that the belief that there was a radical change signalled by 9/11 is deeply problematic not just for conceptualizations of world politics but also for practice. This argument is then discussed in the context of four specific areas, the geo-political configuration of world politics, the ideological shape of world politics, ideas and assumptions about the use of force in world politics and the relationship between civil liberty and security.

The Interregnum: Controversies in World Politics 1989-1999

Abstract: The Interregnum: Controversies in World Politics 1989–1999 is a series of critical reflections on the major controversies in and about world politics in the 1990s. We are living in an era which seemingly defies description: in social and political theory, our age is frequently referred to as 'post-modern'; in international relations, we remain in the 'post-Cold War' age. The age is only characterised by what it is not. This collection of critical reflections, written by leading scholars in the field, sheds light on the meanings of world politics in what we are calling The Interregnum. The central question of the Special Issue might be put as follows: what do the major controversies in world politics in the 1990s tell us about the characteristics of the age, who we are, and where world politics might be going?

The State of War

Abstract: This article frames the discussion of the 'state of war' in this issue of International Affairs. Beginning by noting the continued recurrence of 'traditional' modes of war along side so-called 'new wars' and calling to aid Rousseau's brutal satire of 1756, The state of war, the article offers a discussion of three 'responses' to the reality of war in international relations-the heroic response, the realpolitik response and the compassionate response and argues that a synthesis between them characterizes the general approach to war in any historical period. It then considers how the contemporary synthesis might be viewed and offers thoughts on the articles in this issue in the light of this suggestion.