Introduction

The Western World has been engaged in sustained military activity since September 2001. While war and military operations have been, and continue to be, dominant landmarks on the historical landscape of the last century or so, the focus of attention on these issues from scholars in the social sciences has had a reasonably specific character. Research has tended to stem from strategic studies and international human rights rather than from detailed studies of changes in the ways militaries self-organise and operate in the field. Over this time we have seen militaries develop in size, organisation, professionalism, technology and extent of global engagement. In the same period, militaries and wars have become increasingly mediated through the mainstream media, and in more recent times, the burgeoning Internet and other forms of social media...