The British Way在這裏語境接近于“英國模式”的意思。
Grant: What is your thesis for this game and what themes does it deal with?
Stephen: The main thesis of the multipack is exploring the notion of whether there was a “British Way” of counterinsurgency during this period. For several decades following these conflicts, there was a common perception in Western militaries and even in academia that the British were exceptionally skilled at counterinsurgency due to their emphasis on minimum use of force and a focus on winning hearts and minds. Just prior to the war in Iraq, the British counterinsurgency manual even claimed that “the experience of numerous small wars has provided the British army with a unique insight into this demanding form of conflict.” However, following the less successful campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a revaluation of the evidence in the original colonial cases, this notion of a uniquely successful “British Way” has been challenged.
One of the major new findings of the revaluation of these older conflicts, using new archival material, is that the British use of coercion against the population was far greater than previously believed. Although the type and level of coercion varied across the conflicts, one of the major goals of The British Way is to illustrate the trade-offs around the use of coercion and violence toward the civilian population by the British, but also committed by the insurgent factions. |