A Handful of Bullets : How the Murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand Still Menaces the Peace

The Great War or the “War to end all Wars" as promised by President Woodrow Wilson was neither great nor ultimately conclusive. Precipitated by the assassination of the Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife in the streets of Sarajevo on June 28th, 1914, World War I demolished the order established by the Concert of Vienna, an order that had maintained the peace in Europe for almost a century. The ensuing carnage laid the foundations for a second world war and the cold war that followed. World War I also left in its catastrophic wake three transformational legacies that remain largely unnoticed today. These legacies have provoked and will provoke massive and even tectonic change to the international order. But containing, mitigating, and preventing these disruptions from exploding into major crises will prove no less difficult a challenge than did restraining the forces that ignited the chaos and violence of the last century. The first legacy would create an excess of potential archdukes and an abundance of bullets any combination of which could detonate a regional or global crisis. The second began the unraveling of the Westphalian system of state-centric politics in place since 1648. And the third was to seat Four New Horsemen of the Apocalypse as the major threats and challenges to global peace and prosperity. In a sentence, these legacies would make Osama bin Laden into a modern day version of Gavrilo Princip, the Archduke's assassin. They threaten to turn September 11th 2001 into a June 28th 1914 like event, but in many different and frightening ways. Instead of using a Beretta 9-mm pistol, bin Laden crashed three airliners into New York's Twin Towers and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., starting a global war on terror. This book tells this story. Unfortunately, our current strategic mindset to deal with the twenty-first century threats remains firmly anchored in the past. That mindset must change if aspirations for peace and prosperity are to be met with decisive and effective actions. The Assassination Of The Austro-hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand And His Wife Sophie In The Streets Of Sarajevo On June 28, 1914, Precipitated World War I. From Those Ashes A Second World War And A Cold War Would Arise. Now, A Century Later, That Murder Has Ironically Put In Place Powerful Forces That Menace Today's Peace. Unfortunately, Leaders Are Largely Unaware Of The Dangers Emanating From These Forces And Prefer Instead To Deal With Their Symptoms And Not The Causes, Making Solutions Very Difficult. Over The Past Century Four New Horsemen Of The Apocalypse Have Been Created. Each Poses A Direct Threat To The Well-being Of People Worldwide, Along With Peace, Stability, And Prosperity. The New Horsemen Are Failed And Failing Government; Economic Despair, Disparity, And Dislocation; Violent Ideologies, Principally Religiouis; And Environmental. A Handful Of Bullets Tells The Story Of How This Dangerous And Highly Volatile State Of Affairs Has Occurred. Most Importantly, Ullman Offers Prescriptive Recommendations To Corral Each Of These Menacing Riders, Ranging From Revising The American National Security Structure To Establishing A Vitally Needed National Infrastructure Bank And Reforming The Electoral Process, Including Mandating Universal Voting And Allowing Successful Presidents To Seek A Third Term. In The Telling, Ullman Argues That America Desperately Needs A New Strategic Mindset For The Twenty-first Century. -- Front Jacket Cover Flap. Part One. Deus Ex Machina: How The Murder Of An Archduke Began The Unraveling Of The Westphalian Era, Created Four New Horsemen Of The Apocalypse, And Transformed The Nature Of The International System In The Twenty-first Century -- Globalization And The Diffusion Of Power -- The New Four Horsemen -- Three Crucial Consequences -- Part Tow. Many Archdukes, Many Bullets -- Regional Crises And Ticking Time Bombs -- Global Financial And Economic Ticking Time Bombs -- Cyber -- Wildcards: Looming Archdukes And Lurking Bullets -- Part Three. A Brains-based Approach To Strategy: Corralling The Four Horsemen -- Failed And Failing Governments -- Economic Despair, Disparity, And Disruption -- Ideological Extremism And Religious Fanaticism -- Environmental Calamity And Climate Change -- Mind-set Myopia: The Failure Of Strategic Thinking -- Conclusions. Needed: A Brains-based Approach -- Appendix I. A Letter To The Secretary Of Defense -- Appendix Ii: A Future Maritime Force. Harlan K. Ullman. Includes Index. The Great War or the “War to end all wars” as promised by President Woodrow Wilson was neither great nor ultimately conclusive. Precipitated by the assassination of the Austro—Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife in the streets of Sarajevo on June 28, 1914, World War I demolished the order established by the Concert of Vienna, an order that had maintained the peace in Europe for almost a century. The ensuing carnage laid the foundation for World War II and the Cold War that followed. World War I also left in its catastrophic wake three transformational legacies that remain largely unnoticed today. These legacies have provoked and will continue to provoke massive change to the international order. But containing, mitigating, and preventing these disruptions from exploding into major crises will prove no less difficult a challenge than did restraining the forces that ignited the chaos and violence of the last century. These legacies would make Osama bin Laden into a modern day version of Gavrilo Princip, the Archduke's assassin, and turn September 11, 2001 into an event like that one on June 28, 1914, in many different and frightening ways. Instead of using a Beretta 9 mm pistol, bin Laden crashed three airliners into New York's Twin Towers and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., starting a global war on terror. Unfortunately, America's current strategic mindset to deal with the twenty-first century remains firmly anchored in the previous century. That mindset must change if aspirations for peace and prosperity are to be met with decisive and effective actions. Ullman offers provocative and challenging arguments to conventional wisdom—that we fail to understand the challenges and dangers and lack a mindset to cope with these twenty-first-century realities. He argues that while the dangers are not as destructive as a world war, unless they are addressed, at best the standard of living and expectations of Americans will decline, and at worst, the world will become more violent, unpredictable, and chaotic.