Clausewitz in the Twenty-First Century

Hew Strachan and Andreas Herberg-Rothe

Engaging new interpretation of a hugely influential international theorist
Contributions form an unprecedented range of disciplines

Clausewitz in the Twenty-First Century

Hew Strachan and Andreas Herberg-Rothe

Description

Clausewitz's On War has, at least until very recently, been regarded as the most important work of theory on its subject. But since the end of the Cold War in 1990, and even more since the 9/11 attacks on the United states in 2001, an increasing number of commentators have argued that On War has lost its analytical edge as a tool for understanding war. They have argued that Clausewitz was concerned solely with inter-state war and with properly defined armies, and that the sorts of conflicts which he discussed are therefore part of a historical pattern which dominated Europe between 1648, the end of the Thirty Years War, and 1990 itself. Some have gone further, and suggested that Clausewitz's best known aphorism, that war is a continuation of policy by other means, is not only irrelevant today but also inapplicable historically. Clausewitz in the Twenty-First Century reconsiders the principal themes in Clausewitz's writings from a contemporary perspective, and finds in them much more inspiration and insight than these generalisations allow. Embracing the perspectives of history, philosophy and political science, the book reconsiders both the text and its current implications. Traditional interpretations of On War are put into fresh light; neglected passages are re-examined; and new insights are derived from the conjunction between Clausewitz's text and today's challenges.

Clausewitz in the Twenty-First Century

Hew Strachan and Andreas Herberg-Rothe

Foreword: Clausewitz On War: a History of the Howard-Paret Translation -, Michael Howard
Introduction, Hew Strachan and Andreas Herberg-Rothe
1. Clausewitz and the Dialectics of War, Hew Strachan
2. Clausewitz and the Non-Linear Nature of War: Systems of Organized Complexity, Alan Beyerchen
3. Clausewitz's On War: Problems of Text and Translation, Jan Willem Honig
4. The Primacy of Policy and the 'Trinity' in Clausewitz's Mature Thought, Christopher Bassford
5. The Instrument: Clausewitz on Aims and Objectives in War, Daniel Moran
6. Moral Forces in War, Ulrike Kleemeier
7. War as 'Art': Aesthetics and Politics in Clausewitz's Social Thinking, José Fernández Vega
8. Clausewitz's Ideas of Strategy and Victory, Beatrice Heuser
9. On Defence as the Stronger Form of War, Jon Sumida
10. Clausewitz and Small Wars, Christopher Daase
11. Clausewitz and the Nature of the War on Terror, Antulio J
12. Clausewitz and the Privatization of War, Herfried Münkler
13. Clausewitz and Information Warfare, David Lonsdale
14. Clausewitz and the Two Temptations of Modern Strategic Thinking, Benoît Durieux
15. Civil-Military Relations and Democracies, Wilfried von Bredow
16. Clausewitz and a New Containment: the Limitation of War and Violence, Andreas Herberg-Rothe

Clausewitz in the Twenty-First Century

Hew Strachan and Andreas Herberg-Rothe

Author Information

Hew Strachan is Chichele Professor of the History of War at Oxford University.

Andreas Herberg-Rothe is a Private Lecturer at the Institute for Social Sciences, Humboldt-University Berlin.