Background
Quester, George Herman was born on July 14, 1936 in Brooklyn. Son of Jacob George and Elizabeth (Mattern) Quester.
(From the inside flap of the book: "While many studies hav...)
From the inside flap of the book: "While many studies have focused on television's effects on election outcomes, this groundbreaking new book examines the impact of the mediums' transboundary reach and its potential to influence dramatically international relations in the future." In this book, the author, "explores the phenomenon of television and the wide range of international issues.... Using examples drawn around the world, he discusses the political as well as cultural sovereignty, ethnicity, and individual liberty that it can touch."
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0669209929/?tag=2022091-20
( In this study, first published in 1966, Quester analyze...)
In this study, first published in 1966, Quester analyzes pre-nuclear age theories of deterrence to equip us with perspective and data by which current theories can be evaluated. Quester presents a forceful argument in support of the relevance of history to discussions of military strategy.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887380875/?tag=2022091-20
( Throughout the decades of the Cold War, people all arou...)
Throughout the decades of the Cold War, people all around the world lived in fear of thermonuclear war. To assuage that fear theorists of deterrence explained over and over again that both sides had to be able to retaliate with "mutual assured destruction," to keep nuclear weapons from being used. Yet this "basic fact" of nuclear deterrence begs the question: What deterred the United States from a preemptive strike before 1949 when Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union had not yet acquired nuclear weapons of its own? In Nuclear Monopoly George Quester sets forth the case for preventive war using rudimentary atomic weapons to avoid the possibility of a future war in which both sides would have used hydrogen bombs. Quester demonstrates that the notion of mutual assured destruction was rooted in the questionable assumption that assured destruction must be mutual and that the United States "of course" would never consider preventive war. He explores the logic of these assumptions against the historical circumstances of the years 1945-1949 and the thinking of influential personalities and decision-makers that determined U.S. nuclear policy. In 1945 the United States was able to inflict nuclear destruction and had no fear of retaliation. Arguably the United States could have used that advantage to extract major political concessions from the Soviet Union, including surrender, disarmament, and democratization. At the same time it might have prevented the proliferation and development of nuclear weapons. Against this view Quester analyzes a range of prevailing views from practical and procedural considerations. These range from the shortage of bombs and other resources, ineffectiveness of bombing, Soviet resistance, and the vulnerability of Western Europe, to larger questions of American morality: absence of a casus belli, civilian casualties, and concern about untrammeled arrogance of power. With dissolution of the Soviet Union and the proliferation of nuclear weapons among small powers and rogue states, the failure to head off Soviet nuclear capacity takes on greater historical weight. The options of the next century will never be what they were from 1945-1949, but this study of the military and strategic decision-making provides important insights for future conflicts. Nuclear Monopoly will be of interest to military historians, policymakers, and political scientists.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0765800225/?tag=2022091-20
(The end of the Cold War came as good news for most of the...)
The end of the Cold War came as good news for most of the world. No one had predicted the collapse of Communist rule for several decades. This book looks at how political scientists failed to predict such a quick resolution and ways in which the world might develop post Cold War.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0714682136/?tag=2022091-20
( This provocative and timely work examines various scena...)
This provocative and timely work examines various scenarios in which the deployment of nuclear weapons could occur, the probable consequences of such an escalation, the likely world reactions, and the plausible policy ramifications. Rather than projecting the physical damage that would result from nuclear attacks, George H. Quester offers an exploration of the political, psychological, and social aftermath of nuclear conflict. The prospect of nuclear attack―sixty years after atomic bombs destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki―is difficult to confront on many levels. We may avoid the discussion for emotional reasons, for fear of generating a self-confirming hypothesis, or simply because of the general "nuclear taboo." But there are also self-denying propositions to be harnessed here: if the world gives some advance thought to how nuclear weapons might be used again, such attacks may be headed off. If the world avoids nuclear weapons use until the year 2045, it will be able to celebrate one hundred years of nuclear concord. Quester suggests that this may be achieved through the careful consideration of possible nuclear deployment scenarios and their consequences. In this insightful analysis, he provides a starting point for informed and focused reflection and preparation.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0801882842/?tag=2022091-20
Quester, George Herman was born on July 14, 1936 in Brooklyn. Son of Jacob George and Elizabeth (Mattern) Quester.
Bachelor of Arts, Columbia University, 1958; Master of Arts, Harvard University, 1964; Doctor of Philosophy, Harvard University, 1965.
Instructor, then assistant professor government, Harvard University, 1965-1970; associate professor government, Cornell Univercity, 1970-1973; professor, Cornell Univercity, 1973-1982; professor political science, U. Maryland., College Park, since 1982. Visiting professor United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland., 1991-1993.
(From the inside flap of the book: "While many studies hav...)
( This provocative and timely work examines various scena...)
( In this study, first published in 1966, Quester analyze...)
( Throughout the decades of the Cold War, people all arou...)
(The end of the Cold War came as good news for most of the...)
(Book by Quester, George H.)
( )
Served with United States Air Force, 1958-1961. Member Council Foreign Relations, Institute Strategic Studies, American Political Science Association.
Married Aline Marie Olson, June 20, 1964. Children: Theodore, Amanda.