Paul Hirst is professor of Social Relations at Birkbeck College, University of London, and academic director of the London Consortium. His latest book, War and Power in the 21st Century was published in November 2001.

Recent articles

The shadow of Vietnam hangs over every later US war. There, the communists’ Tet offensive of January 1968 broke America’s belief in ultimate victory. In Iraq, the military challenge is limited by comparison, but a lengthy post-war occupation will face the US with comparable political problems. After the victory of force, will America have the intelligence to know how to win the peace?

What are the military options for Iraq? How will the US deploy their firepower? What is the likelihood of street battles in Baghdad? The author of “War in the Twenty-First Century” assesses the options.

With brains, principles and guts the fictional US President Jed Bartlet from the TV series “The West Wing” has all the qualities to deal with a major international crisis. While in the real world the UN is split, Nato falters and worldwide peace marches put political pressure on Bush and Blair (whose staff, apparently, are “West Wing” addicts) how would Bartlett deal with Saddam? Paul Hirst speculates.

Opposition to the Bush administration’s strategy on Iraq is growing both inside America and around the world. Criticism of its pre-emptive approach tends to be scornful of its intellectual framework and strategic thinking. But a serious case has been made for the exercise of American power - notably by Philip Bobbitt, author of “The Shield of Achilles”, who was Senior Director for Strategic Planning at the National Security Council in Clinton’s White House. openDemocracy met with Philip Bobbitt and Paul Hirst, author of “Globalisation in Question”, to hear them debate the justifications for America’s independence from international constraint, and wider issues of world politics and economic development emerging from the end of the cold war. This encounter provides the starting point for openDemocracy’s debate on American power & the world. Bobbitt’s epic study “The Shield of Achilles” was written before 11 September 2001, but it anticipates the rise of terrorism and al-Qaida. He has provided openDemocracy with a summary of his argument, while Paul Hirst assesses the merits of the book.

Paul Hirst reviews Philip Bobbitt’s book “The Shield of Achilles”.