Includes bibliographical references (pages 154-170) and index.
Introduction : postmodernism and 9/11 -- Postmodern war in a world without meaning -- The humanitarian spectacle -- The media war on terrorism -- Culture wars and the post-Vietnam condition -- Security and vulnerability in the 'risk society' -- Postmodern empire and the 'death of the subject' -- Conclusion : Beyond postmodernity.
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"This book investigates how conflict and international intervention have changed since the end of the Cold War, asking why Western military operations are now conducted as high-tech media spectacles, apparently more important for their propaganda value than for any strategic aims. Discussing the humanitarian interventions of the 1990s and the War on terror, the book analyses the rise of postmodern sensibility in domestic and international politics, and explores how the projection of power abroad is undermined by a lack of cohesion and purpose at home. Drawing together debates from a variety of disciplinary and theoretical perspectives, the author argues that contemporary warfare may be understood as 'postmodern' in that it is driven by the collapse of grand narratives in Western societies and constitutes an attempt to recapture a sense of purpose and meaning."--Half title page.