Questions
- What is the difference between war and warfare, and why does it matter?
- Can the contexts of strategic history be rank-ordered in importance?
- Is it persuasive to argue that Thucydides said all that needs to be said at a
general level when he identified ‘fear, honour and interest’ as the principal
motives for war? - What factors can inhibit dialogue between politicians and soldiers?
Further reading
J. Black Warfare in the Western World, 1882–1975(Chesham: Acumen, 2002).
—— Introduction to Global Military History: 1775 to the Present Day(London: Routledge,
2005).
B. Bond The Pursuit of Victory: From Napoleon to Saddam Hussein(Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1996).
P. Browning The Changing Nature of Warfare: The Development of Land Warfare from 1792 to
1945 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002).
P. Hirst War and Power in the 21st Century: The State, Military Conflict and the International
System(Cambridge: Polity Press, 2001).
J. S. Nye, Jr Understanding International Conflicts: An Introduction to Theory and History, 6th
edn (New York: Pearson Longman, 2007).
C. Townshend (ed.) The Oxford History of Modern War(Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2005).
J. J. Weltman World Politics and the Evolution of War(Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University
Press, 1995).
14 War, peace and international relations
warfare; the relationship between politicians and soldiers; the dependence of
war on society; and the relations between war and peace, and peace and war.- The principal contexts of strategic history are: political; socio-cultural; eco-
nomic; technological; military–strategic; geographical; and historical. These
contexts are always in play. - ‘Fear, honour and interest’ provide historical continuity of motivation for
conflict and war. - Because war is waged for political goals, there needs to be a continuous
dialogue between politicians and soldiers, albeit a dialogue weighted in favour
of the former. - To be good at waging warfare is not necessarily to be competent at the conduct
of war. - Societies and people with their values and beliefs make war, not just states.