Analysis and Commentary

Alan Stephens on:

• the Royal Australian Air Force from 1915 to 2000

  
  The Royal Australian Air Force, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 2006 (note: pbk edition of 2001 book (ISBN 0-19-554115-4). The second volume in The Australian Centenary History of Defence series, it tells the story of human ingenuity, skill, courage and resilience through the experiences of RAAF personnel who have served Australia around the world and over the years from Mesopotamia in 1915 to East Timor in 2000..

• military strategy and strategic thought

  
  Making Sense of War: Strategy for the 21st Century, Cambridge University Press, October 2006 (ISBN-13: 9780521676649 | ISBN-10: 0521676649) (co-author: Nicola Baker). This volume provides a comprehensive and clear analysis of the complex business of waging war and gives readers a thorough understanding of the key concepts in strategic thought. It uses a thematic approach and historical examples from 500 BCE to the present. It also discusses the constraints and opportunities facing military commanders in the 21st century, and demonstrates that the formulation of military strategy will continue to be perhaps the single most important responsibility for senior security officials..

• the notion of the decisive or 'great' battle over time

  
  'From the Decisive Battle to the Strategic Raid', subsequently published in the Spring 2006 issue of United Service (Vol. 57, No. 2) [quarterly of the Royal United Services Institute of New South Wales] [pdf].

• effects-based planning

  
  'Strategy with Style: Effects-Based Planning', Security Challenges, Vol. 2, No. 1 (April 2006), pp. 91–111. [pdf].