Occupation

How does a successful conquering power retain control of the land it occupies - often in the face of hostility? In Occupation, Eric Carlton explores the methods employed by dominant powers to ensure their supremacy and considers the critical relationship between military authority and civilian population.In exploring this complex relationship, Dr Carlton covers both the nature of control and its practical implementation. Working from the premise that the ideology of the occupying power conditions the exercise of power and that control is gained either by compulsion or persuasion, he examines the options available to the aggressor nation in maintaining authority. These, he suggests, include both the use of force and the implementation of forms of social control - legal, moral and religious precepts - as well as the utilization of the social norms of the occupied nation. In order to demonstrate the wide variety of control policies used, Dr Carlton presents a spectrum of case studies, with examples ranging from the Roman Empire to British colonialism in India and the exploitation of Peru by the Spanish. Particular attention is given to the Nazi atrocities of the Second World War, and to the moral aspects of military repression.In the light of the recent Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, which Dr Carlton discusses in a postscript, the relevance of an increased understanding of the nature of occupation is plain. With its wide historical perspective, this book will be of interest to students of history, politics, war and peace studies and the social sciences.