Book review: the transformation of Europe’s armed forces: from the Rhine to Afghanistan

Abstract

Europe’s mass, mainly conscript armies are being replaced by smaller, more capable, professionalised militaries concentrated into new operational headquarters and rapid reaction brigades, able to plan, command, and execute global military interventions. At the same time, these headquarters and brigades are co-operating with each other across national borders resulting in a transnational military network is appearing in Europe, in which are converging on common forms of military expertise. Matthew Partridge reviews Anthony King‘s sociology of defence policy