I was thinking last night of Victor Davis Hanson's The Western Way of War (GoogleBooks), and questioning whether Greek warmaking is really representative of "the Western way of war." I'll have to read the book some time... From the publisher's description of the book:

The Greeks of the classical age invented not only the central idea of Western politics—that the power of state should be guided by a majority of its citizens—but also the central act of Western warfare, the decisive infantry battle. Instead of ambush, skirmish, or combat between individual heroes, the Greeks of the fifth century B.C. devised a ferocious, brief, and destructive head-on clash between armed men of all ages. In this bold, original study, Victor Davis Hanson shows how this brutal enterprise was dedicated to the same outcome as consensual government—an unequivocal, instant resolution to dispute.

This way of waging war is prior to the four generations (as outlined by William Lind), but while it in a republic or polity most of the citizens participate in the military, does this have to be the way for military and political goals to be met? On the level of tactics does it have to be just brunt force against brunt force, or is there suitable room for "maneuver warfare" and such? I have read that part of Alexander the Great's military genius lay in his tactical flexibility -- it think it would be unwise to associate this with a more "despotic" or "imperial" way of life.

If the scale of the battle and the size of the two armies are small, is there a possibility for maneuver warfare to be executed? I need to consult someone who knows something about [ancient] warfare...

It is therefore unclear to me why Hanson calls war-making by Western armies since then by the same appellation.

(source)

Victor Davis Hanson, “The Western Way of War,” October 13, 2006 (mp3)
Why Study War?
A review of VDH's Ripples of Battle. One for Carnage and Culture.
Transcript for "CARNAGE AND CULTURE: The Western Way of War."
Conversation with Victor Davis Hanson.
"Glad We are Not Fighting Us."
A small archive.
Bio.
RWN interview
Right Way to Farm the Classics

A War Like No Other: How the Athenians and Spartans Fought the Peloponnesian War (GoogleBooks)
Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2006.03.40
review by Gary Brecher
An Interview with Victor Davis Hanson
NPR

Patrick G. Skelly, Evolution in 'The Western Way of War': Continuity, Punctuated Equilibrium, Neither? (pdf)
The Dougout: Military Evolutions: East and West, Victor Davis Hanson, Lt. Col. Bob Bateman and Charlemagne

Re: these posts -- If we're looking at the last 500 years, I'm unconvinced that "cultural values" are the primary explanation for the success of "the Western way of war," especially if we are looking at wars between Western and non-Western polities. Technology seems to be a greater factor. Cultural or institutional values within the military may explain why some Western armies performed better than others, and account for the development and use of 2GW and 3GW.