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Why Arabs Lose Wars (1999)
- testdelacc1 1y agoMirror: https://archive.is/2025.06.27-020156/https://www.meforum.org/middle-east-quarterly/why-arabs-lose-wars https://archive.is/2025.06.27-020156/https://www.meforum.org...
- wrp 1y agoTFA is based on the dissertation work of Kenneth M. Pollack. If you are into military history, his Arabs at War (2002) contains the historical part of the dissertation and is very informative. His second book, Armies of Sand (2019), contains the theoretical part and I didn't feel that it added much understanding.
- silexia 1y agoExcellent article. It shows functionally why meritocracies perform much better than socialistic systems.
- general1465 1y agoIt is not just socialistic, right authoritarianism also tends to reward loyalty over meritocracy.
- silexia 1y agoTrue! It applies to both the right and the left abusing government power. The best solution is to reduce government power and size so neither side can abuse it.
- owenversteeg 1y agoThis is a phenomenal article. It is interesting even if you have no interest in war. There are countless scattered insights about culture, pedagogy, leadership, personal relationships, secrecy and others. The insights on pedagogy are some of the most interesting. The main problems, according to the author, are on-high lectures where instructors are not challenged, a lack of inter-student competition, insistence on both students and instructors saving face by not knowing the answer, and a culture of secrecy. Other interesting issues: cohesion between officers and enlisted, being honest about your faults, taking responsibility. A lot of these lessons, I think, could be applied quite broadly (war, education, business, personal relationships, etc.)