Useful Enemies: When Waging Wars Is More Important Than Winning Them
“Engaging and readable… David Keen’s findings will be ever-more  important… His lessons are salutary…” (The RUSI Journal [Royal United  Services Institute])“[An] important book… the natural product of  over two decades of research on wars across the globe.” (Cambridge  Review of International Affairs)“an interesting read… Because  Professor Keen has been involved in some of these conflicts, it gives  him a particular credibility in his analysis… should be available in  military libraries, on every military and civilian planners’ bookshelf  and be read by those with an interest in learning more about the nature  of conflict in the 21st century.” (Army Rumour Service)  “Keen has  written an important book… the book’s real contribution lies in  compiling the hidden functions of war in a comprehensible way and making  them accessible to a broader non-specialist public.” (International  Affairs)“This eye-opening book will change the way you look at  conflicts and the humanitarian efforts aimed at alleviating their impact  on civilians.” (The National)“personal and ultimately intriguing… recommended.” (Choice Review)“The  book’s most important theoretical step is as simple as it is original.  Scholars, policymakers and the general public generally think of war as a  win-or-lose game, in which both parties have irreconcilably different  goals. Keen puts forward a convincing alternative to this view by  outlining how interests of opposing actors in war often overlap at least  partially.” (Global Crime)“By applying the same lens to war in  both developed and developing countries, and highlighting how they are  often driven by similar political, economic and psychological dynamics,  Keen undermines the comfortable distinction between violence in failed  states and the modern - or even post-modern - wars of the West” (Times  Higher Education)“an important perspective on the most troubling dimensions of recent local and regional wars” (Publishers Weekly)“Four stars – super” (The Scotsman)“altogether excellent” (Chase Madar)“an interesting book… important for understanding the world we live in.” (Cover to Cover)“This is a book that you should read, despite its uncomfortable look at the reality of war (The Deepening World of Books)“…  dedicates a powerful chapter to demonstrating how the state of  ‘permanent emergency’ in the U.S. is driven by a variety of vested  interests who benefit from the perpetuation of fear of a faceless  enemy…” (Reason Magazine).“Keen’s book challenges us to reconsider  our way of understanding conflict and its purposes. Written in an easily  approachable style, it is full of anecdotes and uses a minimum of  academic jargon, making is a valuable and accessible read for a wider  audience. Although it does not contain explicit policy guidelines, it  has the potential to stimulate debate in policy-making circles and the  donor community.” (Meike De Goede)“David Keen has taken a great step  toward revising our thinking about war… an important and provocative  work.” (George Kenney, Electricpolitics.com)