Kagan, Frederick W. 1970-

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Kagan, Frederick W. 1970-

PERSONAL:

Born March 26, 1970; son of Donald Kagan (a historian). Education: Yale University, B.A., Ph.D.

ADDRESSES:

Office—American Enterprise Institute, 1150 17th St. N.W., Washington, DC 20036; fax: 202-862-7177. E-mail—FKagan@aei.org.

CAREER:

Historian, scholar, educator, writer, and editor. United States Military Academy at West Point, West Point, NY, assistant professor, 1995-2001, associate professor of military history, 2001-05; American Enterprise Institute, Washington, DC, resident scholar, c. 2005—.

WRITINGS:

The Military Reforms of Nicholas I: The Origins of the Modern Russian Army, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1999.

(With father, Donald Kagan) While America Sleeps: Self-Delusion, Military Weakness, and the Threat to Peace Today, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 2000.

(Editor and author of introduction, with Robin Higham) The Military History of Tsarist Russia, Palgrave (New York, NY), 2002.

(Editor, with Robin Higham, and contributor) The Military History of the Soviet Union, Palgrave (New York, NY), 2002.

(Editor, with Christian Kubik) Leaders in War: West Point Remembers the 1991 Gulf War, Frank Cass (New York, NY), 2005.

The End of the Old Order: Napoleon and Europe, 1801-1805, Perseus Books Group (New York, NY), 2006.

Finding the Target: The Transformation of American Military Policy, Encounter Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Also author of Why Military History Matters, AEI National Security Outlook; coeditor of "The Yale Library of Military History" series, Yale University Press; contributing editor to the Weekly Standard; contributor to periodicals.

SIDELIGHTS:

Frederick W. Kagan is a noted military historian who taught at West Point before joining the American Enterprise Institute. He is the author or editor of numerous books focusing on military topics. In his 1999 book, The Military Reforms of Nicholas I: The Origins of the Modern Russian Army, the author explores the reforms to the Russian army made by Nicholas I in the 1930s. According to the author, these reforms were conservative in nature but had modernizing effects on the Russian military that led to its success in the Crimean War in 1850. Kagan examines the driving forces behind the alteration of a poorly organized military that was inefficient and corrupt but was ultimately reformed by a reorganized military administration from 1832 to 1836. "The book's strength is in chapters 4 and 9, where Kagan explores the complex of economic, social, political, and diplomatic issues that underlay the reform effort," noted Dale Lothrop Clifford in History: Review of New Books. Calling the book a "very thorough and valuable study," Library Journal contributor David M. Alperstein wrote in the same review that the author "does an outstanding job of analyzing the … reorganization of the military."

Kagan and his father, Donald Kagan, who is also a historian, are the authors of While America Sleeps: Self-Delusion, Military Weakness, and the Threat to Peace Today, published in 2000. In their book, the authors look at what they consider serious mistakes being made by the U.S. government and its military in their efforts to protect the United States and foster peace throughout the world. The basis of their book is a comparison of modern U.S. policies with British policies of the 1920s. In their comparison, the authors lay out their view that, just like Great Britain decades ago following the end of World War I, the United States at the beginning of the twenty-first century is throwing away a rare opportunity to bring stability, peace, and prosperity throughout the world. "While America Sleeps describes the deteriorating condition of Britain in considerable detail," wrote Robert H. Ferrell in the Joint Forces Quarterly. Jay Freeman, writing in Booklist, commented that this analysis of "some of the basic assumptions about our role in the post-cold war world deserves serious consideration."

Kagan is the editor, with Robin Higham, of The Military History of Tsarist Russia and The Military History of the Soviet Union. The first book presents a series of essays that "attempt to fill some of the gaps, to identify areas needing additional research, and to paint an altogether more nuanced portrait of this critical component of Russian history," noted Gary P. Cox in History: Review of New Books. Focusing on Russian military history from 1453 to 1917, the thirteen essays present a chronological look at the history focusing on a theme set forward in the introduction by Kagan and Higham, namely the paradox of a government that was both strong and weak. Cox noted that the book represents "an intelligent starting place to understand the sweep of Russian military history."

In The Military History of the Soviet Union, Kagan and Higham present seventeen essays by scholars that focus on issues such as the politics, strategy, campaigns, and various institutions that affected the Soviet military. Kagan also contributes two essays to the book. Kagan's essays were referred to as "penetrating" by Dr. Matthew R. Schwonek in his review in the Air & Space Power Journal. Schwonek wrote that the author "effectively survey[s] a burgeoning literature to offer some sensible thoughts on the rise of modern warfare doctrines in the 1920s and the subsequent atrophy of the military art on the eve of the Second World War."

Kagan begins a projected four-volume work focusing on the Napoleonic wars and their impact with his book The End of the Old Order: Napoleon and Europe, 1801-1805. His account of the Napoleonic wars in Europe reveals that the interaction of the continental politics of the time and the war played a large role in shaping the modern world. Tapping into previously unused archival materials from several countries, including France and Russia, the author provides a broad examination of the times from various viewpoints that includes rulers, ministers, and the everyday citizens of various countries involved in the conflict. Noting that the author "employs a very readable narrative style," David Lee Poremba also wrote in the Library Journal that "no one should avoid reading this book." Policy Review contributor Henrik Bering called The End of the Old Order a "masterful volume."

In his 2006 book, Finding the Target: The Transformation of American Military Policy, Kagan offers a "scathing critique of current Pentagon thinking," according to New York Times Book Review contributor Barry Gewen. The author begins by analyzing the U.S. military since the Vietnam War. He explains how the military moved to an all-volunteer force and the development of a new generation of weapons systems. He goes on to describe the development of stealth technology and precision-guided munitions in the 1980s followed by the growth of information technology after the fall of the Soviet Union and the first Gulf War. According to the author, the United States had evolved into the most dominant military in the world. Kagan sees this preeminence as being compromised by Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Kagan cites Clinton's reduction of the armed forces in the 1990s as the beginning of the compromise of U.S. military might. He then writes that Bush's response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the ensuing global war on terror further threatened the United States' standing as the preeminent military power in the world.

One of Kagan's main themes is that wars are won by people, not necessarily technology, and that the U.S. government and military eventually became too enamored of the belief that technological superiority backed by limited ground troops could prevail in any conflict. As for the war on terror, Kagan, who is a neo-conservative, deems the war a failure, beginning with what he considers the debacle in Iraq. The author goes on to analyze the current state of the U.S. military and describes several avenues toward improvement that it can follow in the future. Noting that Kagan "is a historian of considerable range," contributor Mackubin Thomas Owens wrote in a review of Finding the Target in the Nation: "By laying bare the systemic weaknesses that have hampered the U.S. military's thinking about war, Kagan provides the necessary context for understanding our predicament, and deciding what to do about it."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Air & Space Power Journal, summer, 2003, Dr. Matthew R. Schwonek, review of The Military History of the Soviet Union, p. 121; summer, 2003, Lt. Col. Robert B. Kane, review of The Military History of Tsarist Russia, p. 106.

Army, July, 2007, Edward B. Atkeson, "Reinventing U.S. Military Policy," review of Finding the Target: The Transformation of American Military Policy, p. 85.

Booklist, September 1, 2000, Jay Freeman, review of While America Sleeps: Self-Delusion, Military Weakness, and the Threat to Peace Today, p. 40.

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, March, 2001, Bruce Cumings, review of While America Sleeps, p. 70.

California Bookwatch, February, 2007, review of Finding the Target.

Canadian Journal of History, April, 2001, Keith Neilson, review of The Military Reforms of Nicholas I: The Origins of the Modern Russian Army, p. 142.

Choice, January, 2000, D. Balmuth, review of The Military Reforms of Nicholas I, p. 990; February, 2007, D.S. Reveron, review of Finding the Target, p. 1057.

History: Review of New Books, spring, 2000, Dale Lothrop Clifford, review of The Military Reforms of Nicholas I, p. 129; summer, 2003, Gary P. Cox, review of The Military History of Tsarist Russia, p. 172.

Joint Forces Quarterly, autumn, 2002, Robert H. Ferrell, "National Will and Military Readiness," review of While America Sleeps, p. 138.

Journal of Military History, July, 2005, Walter C. Uhler, review of The Military History of Tsarist Russia, p. 858.

Library Journal, June 1, 1999, David M. Alperstein, review of The Military Reforms of Nicholas I, p. 136; October 1, 2000, Mark Ellis, review of WhileAmerica Sleeps, p. 124; November 15, 2006, David Lee Poremba, review of The End of the Old Order: Napoleon and Europe, 1801-1805, p. 78.

Military History, April, 2007, Robert L. Bateman, review of Finding the Target, p. 68.

National Review, December 4, 2006, Mackubin Thomas Owens, "How We Fight," review of Finding the Target, p. 45.

New York Times, December 17, 2006, Barry Gewen, "War Chronicle," review of Finding the Target.

Policy Review, February 1, 2007, Henrik Bering, "Romping through Europe," review of The End of the Old Order, p. 71.

Publishers Weekly, September 4, 2000, review of While America Sleeps, p. 97; June 5, 2006, review of Finding the Target, p. 48.

Reference & Research Book News, August, 1999, review of The Military Reforms of Nicholas I, p. 178; November, 2006, review of Finding the Target.

Russian Review, July, 2004, review of The Military History of the Soviet Union; July, 2004, review of The Military History of Tsarist Russia.

Science & Society, summer, 2003, Gregory Elich, "The Arrogance of the Imperial Mind," review of While America Sleeps.

Slavonic and East European Review, July, 2001, John Keep, review of The Military Reforms of Nicholas I, p. 536; July, 2004, Roger Bartlett, review of The Military History of Tsarist Russia, p. 754.