ABSTRACT

War, Peace and International Relations provides an introduction to the strategic history of the past two centuries, showing how those 200 years were shaped and reshaped extensively by war. The book takes a broad view of what was relevant to the causes, courses, and consequences of wars.

Written by leading strategist Professor Colin Gray, the book provides students with a good grounding in the contribution of war to the development of the modern world, from the pre-industrial era to the age of international terrorism and smart weapons.

This second edition has been thoroughly revised and updated:

  • It is the first one-volume strategic history textbook on the market;
  • It covers all the major wars of the past two centuries;
  • It is up to date and comprehensive, including a new section on the American Civil War, a new chapter on geography and strategy, and completely rewritten chapters on Iraq and Afghanistan in the 2000s and on irregular warfare.

This textbook will be essential reading for students of strategic studies, security studies, war studies, international relations and international history.

chapter |4 pages

Introduction

Strategic history

chapter 1|12 pages

Themes and contexts of strategic history

chapter 2|17 pages

Carl von Clausewitz and the theory of war

chapter 3|20 pages

From limited war to national war

The French Revolution and the Napoleonic way of war

chapter 4|20 pages

The nineteenth century, I

A strategic view

chapter 5|15 pages

The nineteenth century, II

Technology, warfare and international order

chapter 6|10 pages

World War I, I

Controversies

chapter 7|13 pages

World War I, II

Modern warfare

chapter 8|17 pages

The twenty-year armistice, 1919–39

chapter 9|11 pages

The mechanization of war

chapter 10|24 pages

World War II in Europe, I

The structure and course of total war

chapter 11|14 pages

World War II in Europe, II

Understanding the war

chapter 12|12 pages

World War II in Asia–Pacific, I

Japan and the politics of empire

chapter 13|18 pages

World War II in Asia–Pacific, II

Strategy and warfare

chapter 14|22 pages

The Cold War, I

Politics and ideology

chapter 15|14 pages

The Cold War, II

The nuclear revolution

chapter 16|17 pages

War and peace after the Cold War

An interwar decade

chapter 17|17 pages

9/11 and the age of terror

chapter 18|28 pages

War and irregular warfare

Guerrillas, insurgents and terrorists

chapter 19|22 pages

Geography and strategic history

chapter 20|16 pages

War, peace and international order

chapter 21|3 pages

Conclusion

The twenty-first century – must future strategic history resemble the past?