Politics and War
European Conflict from Philip II to Hitler, Enlarged Edition
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Harvard University Press
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
David Kaiser looks at four hundred years of modern European history to find the political causes of general war in four distinct periods (1559–1659, 1661–1713, 1792–1815, and 1914–1945). He shows how war became a natural function of politics, a logical consequence of contemporary political behavior. Rather than fighting simply to expand, states in each war fought for specific political and economic reasons. The book illustrates the extraordinary power of politics and war in modern Western civilization, if not in history as a whole.
In a provocative and original new preface and chapter, Kaiser shows which aspects of four past areas of conflict do, and do not, seem relevant to the immediate future, and he sketches out some new possibilities for Europe.
Praise for the previous edition:
This is an ambitious book which takes a large subject and tackles it boldly...A stimulating book which spurs its readers to consider wide and difficult issues and deserves to be widely read.
A wide-ranging, intellectually provocative, well-written discussion of the impact which the structure of the domestic politics of major European countries has had on their international conduct over the last few centuries...Kaiser's book is likely to awaken much interest beyond the narrow circle of historical scholars. * Virginia Quarter
ISBN: 9780674002722
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 581g
448 pages
2nd Enlarged edition