Browsing by Subject "Military history"
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Item Brasidas & Cleon at Amphipolis(2006-05) Ponczoch, Joseph Anton, 1974-; Kallet, Lisa, 1956-This paper examines Thucydides' portrayal of Cleon and Brasidas in the second battle of Amphipolis (422 BC). Thucydides makes them the primary subjects of this climactic episode by relating mainly their words, their thoughts, and their deeds; and his focus on them as individuals must be regarded as intentional. Portraying Cleon as imperceptive, passive, and careless actually typifies Athenian behavior immediately following their success at Pylos yet differs from the regretful Athenian attitude right after the second battle of Amphipolis. Similarly, portraying Brasidas as aggressive, alert, and cautious distinguishes him from the rest of the Spartans, who play a rather insignificant role during the final three years before the Peace of Nicias (421-414 BC) because they rue their loss at Pylos more and more. This paper offers a narrative-based interpretation of the second battle of Amphipolis that reveals how the characterization of Cleon and Brasidas actually contrasts them with their own countrymen (Athenians and Spartans, respectively) when open warfare ceases and also typifies the attitudes that prevail at the beginning of the awkwardly hostile period of peace.Item The good guys win : Ronald Reagan, fiction, and the transformation of national security(2018-06-22) Griffin, Benjamin, Ph. D.; Suri, Jeremi; Lawrence, Mark; Inboden, William; Brands, H.W.; Wilson, JamesThe dissertation examines how Ronald Reagan made use of fiction in developing his world view and grand strategy. It argues his use of narrative played an essential role in shaping his vision and in how he communicated with the American public. In particular, the works of Tom Clancy, westerns, and science-fiction novels provided synthetic experiences and creative space that helped Reagan contextualize information and imagine the near-future. Fiction also helped Reagan develop empathy for peoples behind the Iron Curtain leading to a nuanced policy that clearly distinguished the people from their government. The creativity and imagination of Reagan’s vision caused him to break with orthodox conservative positions and hastened the end of the Cold War. The dissertation will also examine how Reagan’s use of fiction proved damaging in the developing world as his narrow reading reinforced tropes and stereotypes leading to ineffective policies that contributed to great suffering in Latin America, South Africa, and the Middle East. The dissertation argues that policy makers read a broad amount of fiction from diverse sources and actively seek to incorporate it into their strategies.