Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. CONTENTS v
3. List of Figures and Tables vii
4. Acknowledgements viii
5. List of Abbreviations xii
6. Part I: Militarism against Democracy
7. 1. The Failure of the Ruling Class 1
8. 2. The Conservative-Authoritarian Politics of the Military 24
9. 3. The Power of the Security State and the Failure of Authoritarianism 51
10. 4. The Authoritarian Temptation: The Militarist Coalition and the Dominant Military Narrative 78
11. 5. The Militarisation Offensive: Crisis, Moral Panic and Military Power 103
12. 6. Ground Truth? The Strategy of Optimism and the Culture of Silence 153
13. Part II: Fighting America’s Wars
14. 7. ‘A Grand Strategic Error’: The Military’s Pursuit of the ‘Bad’ War in Iraq 181
15. 8. The Iraq War: Fighting with the Americans 204
16. 9. ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell, just do it’: The British Military Invades Southern Afghanistan 227
17. 10. ‘Shedding Blood’ in Afghanistan: Politicians in Power? 255
18. 11. Forever Wars: Military Power, the Conservatives and Authoritarian Populism 295
19. 12. Conclusion: A Militarised Democracy Fighting America’s Wars 323
20. Select Bibliography 341
21. Index 344