This chapter outlines the environmental characteristics of air power, particularly the challenges of operating in the air environment. It introduces readers to the way in which modern air operations began during the First World War and the subsequent theorising by a number of key figures who focused upon the strategic aspects of air power and the belief that air power could bring about rapid and decisive victories. These theories are contrasted with the events of the Second World War, which led not to independent air power but the further illustration of the importance of air power as a whole, operating both independently of surface forces and alongside them as a precursor to discussion in Chapter 11.

This chapter argues that the future form of land warfare is far from certain. For some, the future is net-centric warfare, an information and technology-focused view on the changing character of warfare. To meet the demands posed by the changing character of conflict, armies must embrace the theme of multi-domain operations. However, history suggests that in the future multiple forms of land warfare are likely to coexist because the practice of land warfare is shaped by many different political, economic, social and cultural contexts.

This chapter helps readers make sense of the array of activities that can be considered as irregular warfare. As an umbrella term for a particular form of warfare, its methods consist of terrorism, insurgency, revolution, coup d’état and civil war. The chapter compares and contrasts these methods according to the level of resources they employ, their respective centres of gravity, strategic and tactical orientations, mechanism for success and duration. It provides a useful taxonomy for students seeking to better comprehend irregular warfare but narrows down subsequent study to its two most prevalent methods: terrorism and insurgency.

This chapter addresses chemical, biological and radiological weapons of mass destruction. It includes the information required for a basic understanding of these devices, a brief discussion of what constitutes a chemical or biological weapon and why weapons are placed in one of the two classes. It discusses the history of chemical and biological weapons, with an eye toward increasing readers’ understanding of why these weapons have not become ubiquitous on the modern battlefield and are banned from development and use by international law. This includes discussion of past efforts by non-state actors to employ such weapons, as well as how ongoing technological developments may incline state actors, including great powers, to reconsider their rejection of these weapons.

This chapter is focused on nuclear weapons. It includes a discussion of the history of these weapons and their delivery systems, focusing on the technological developments that occurred in the early decades of the Cold War, as well as addressing why the two superpowers built such large arsenals yet few other countries became nuclear proliferators during this period. The chapter also addresses the post-Cold War era, exploring the absolute number of nuclear weapons globally over decades. The chapter discusses nuclear proliferation and counterproliferation, as well as possible future developments related to these weapons. Regarding the latter, ballistic missile defences receive attention. The discussion of the possible future of these weapons takes recent global political developments, such as the Russo-Ukrainian War and related nuclear threats by Russia, into account.

This chapter introduces readers to the subject, and gives a rationale for Strategic Studies as a distinct academic discipline deserving of its own intellectual tradition. From here, the chapter discusses the central role of strategic theory in the discipline, and introduces readers to the most important works in the field. These works include the classics, such as Sun Tzu and Clausewitz, but reference is also made to important modern works, including Gray and Wylie.

Chapter 6 explores magnetoencephalography (MEG), a neuroimaging technique that measures magnetic fields generated by neural activity with millisecond temporal precision. Starting with MEG’s development by David Cohen in 1967 and the crucial introduction of SQUID sensors, the chapter examines how MEG differs from EEG while measuring activity from the same neural sources. While EEG predominantly detects signals from gyri parallel to the skull, MEG captures perpendicular signals from sulci with superior spatial resolution as magnetic fields pass unimpeded through tissue. The practical aspects of MEG acquisition are covered, including participant preparation, artifact removal, and the importance of structural MRI for anatomical coregistration. The chapter addresses source localization challenges, such as the inverse problem of determining which neuronal sources created the detected signals, and explores solutions ranging from single dipole models to distributed approaches using anatomical constraints. Clinical applications in epilepsy and presurgical mapping are discussed, as is the complementary nature of combining MEG with other imaging modalities, particularly fMRI, to leverage their respective spatial and temporal strengths for comprehensive brain activity visualization.

This chapter expands upon the key concepts of air power, illustrating its inter-war development and the challenges presented to the theory when exposed to the realities of the Second World War. It explains the importance of joint operations to Allied victory in 1945 and the importance of the use of the atom bomb as a counter to criticism that strategic bombing was perhaps not as important as had been suggested became moot. The chapter examines the ways in which the key air power concepts played out during the Cold War era (1945-circa 1990) and the employment of air power in the thirty years between the 1991 Gulf War and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 brought about a new line of thinking about air power. The development and growing importance of space power is also considered in detail, leading into the final chapter in this section, which considers the way in which air and space power have become indispensable factors.

This chapter more fully defines strategy. This involves identifying strategy as a process, and examining how strategy functions throughout various levels (tactical, operational, strategic, grand strategic). The final section of the chapter discusses the many challenges that make strategy so difficult. These challenges include strategy’s multidimensional nature, disharmony amongst its levels, nature of war, paradoxical logic, friction, the polymorphous character of war and human involvement. The chapter concludes with some steps that can be taken to deal with the challenges.

Chapter 13 discusses the analysis processes that transform raw brain imaging data into meaningful neuroscientific insights. It explains the methodical progression from preprocessing to advanced analytical techniques, emphasizing that analysis is not merely a technical afterthought but a fundamental component of neuroimaging research. The chapter begins by addressing preprocessing steps – quality control, artifact correction, normalization, and smoothing – that prepare data for subsequent analysis while preserving signal integrity. It then explores single-subject processing approaches that aggregate experimental conditions and trials to establish individual response patterns before proceeding to group-level analyses that enable population-level inferences. Statistical considerations receive particular attention, with the chapter explaining how techniques like statistical parametric mapping function as the interpretive lens through which brain activity becomes visible. The problematic issue of multiple comparisons is thoroughly examined, illustrating how whole-brain analyses necessitate statistical correction to prevent false positives in the tens of thousands of simultaneous tests typical in neuroimaging. The chapter extends beyond traditional univariate approaches to cover network analysis methodologies that reveal functional connectivity patterns between brain regions. It concludes by addressing emerging analytical frontiers: real-time analysis for brain–computer interfaces, closed-loop brain stimulation paradigms, and the methodological limitations that necessitate careful interpretation of neuroimaging results. Throughout, the chapter emphasizes that analytical expertise is as essential as technical proficiency with imaging hardware, and that understanding analytical limitations is crucial for responsible interpretation of the neural basis of cognition and behavior.

Chapter 3 explores event-related potentials (ERPs), one of electroencephalography’s most powerful analytical techniques for investigating cognitive processing. The chapter traces ERPs’ evolution from Pauline and Hallowell Davis’s pioneering work in 1939 through its exponential growth as a research methodology. It explains how ERPs extract meaningful neural signals by time-locking and averaging EEG segments surrounding stimulus presentations, thereby revealing characteristic voltage deflections that correspond to specific cognitive processes. The text examines key ERP components, including C1, P1, N1, P2, N2, and P300, detailing their temporal progression, neuroanatomical origins, and functional significance in the processing hierarchy. It evaluates ERPs’ exceptional capacity to discriminate between processing stages occurring within milliseconds of each other, from early sensory encoding through attention allocation to semantic processing. The chapter addresses methodological considerations essential for robust ERP research, including experimental design principles, artifact reduction techniques, and the interpretation of scalp topographies. By analyzing ERPs’ comparative advantages, including millisecond-precise temporal resolution, ability to track covert processing without behavioral responses, and sensitivity to processing stage differences, alongside their limitations in spatial localization and specific experimental contexts, the chapter positions ERPs as a vital methodology for understanding the sequential unfolding of perceptual and cognitive processes in the human brain.

Chapter 10 discusses functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), a noninvasive brain imaging technique that utilizes light to measure hemodynamic responses. It traces the evolution of spectroscopy from Newton’s prism experiments to modern neuroimaging applications, explaining how near-infrared light penetrates tissue to detect changes in oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin. The chapter details the physical principles underlying fNIRS, comparing continuous wave, frequency domain, and time domain approaches while examining the instrumentation of modern systems. It addresses practical considerations including optode placement, signal quality optimization, and noise reduction techniques. The relationship between fNIRS signals and neural activity is discussed, highlighting similarities to the BOLD response in fMRI while acknowledging limitations in depth penetration. The chapter covers analytical approaches for fNIRS data processing and emphasizes its unique advantages: portability, relative affordability, and functionality in environments hostile to electromagnetic recordings. Case studies demonstrate fNIRS applications in specialized contexts like underwater environments and space exploration, illustrating why this technique has become an essential tool for specific research questions despite its spatial limitations.