In the last century, competition among the global powers has relied heavily upon the concept of war threat assessment. However, the ways in which these powers define security have differed among them, leading in some instances to miscommunication, conflict, and even war. In Without Warning , accomplished scholar Mikhail Alexseev compares the intelligence priorities of principal decision makers in such various parts of the world as the Mongol Empire and Sung China (1206-1220), Great Britain and France (1783-1800), and the USA and the Soviet Union (1975-1991). In his analysis Alexseev reveals that while the leading powers see security primarily in military and economic terms, their challengers focus primarily on political vulnerabilities. As a result, Alexseev asserts, the world powers have consistently failed to detect or deter aggressive challenges. A sharp, deciphering look at the interactions among the major global players, Without Warning makes a crucial contribution to the study of international relations.

Introduction: Limits of the Noticed World and the End of Deterrence: Asymmetric War Threat PART ONE: CAUSES OF ASYMMETRIC THREAT ASSESSMENT: DIVERGENT LINEAGES IN WORLD POLITICS Global Reach Capabilities: Sea Power and Land Power Lineages Political Systems and Information Control: Force of Reason and Reason of Force The Economic Imperative: Global Lead Sectors, Innovation and Government Control PART TWO: OUTCOMES OF ASYMMETRIC THREAT ASSESSMENT: GLOBAL WARS AND CONFRONTATION The Mongol Bid for 'Universal Empire' Britain, France and the 'Great War' of 1792-1815 CIA and KGB: Separate Tracks to the 'New Cold War,' 1975-1985 Intelligence Estimates and the End of the Cold War Conclusion: Global Problems, Intelligence and Probability of Future Global War Notes

MIKHAIL A. ALEXSEEV is Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington. He has published numerous articles in scholarly journals as well as in such publications as The New York Times and Newsweek.