War in Europe: 1450 to the Present

by Jeremy Black

Overview

War in Europe is an overview of war and military development in Europe since 1450, bringing together the work of a renowned historian of modern European and military history in a single authoritative volume. Beginning with the impact of the Reformation and continuing up to the present day, Jeremy Black discusses the following key themes:

long-term military developments, notably in the way war is waged and battle conducted the relationship between war and transformations in the European international system the linkage between military requirements and state developments the consequences of these requirements, and of the experience of war, for the nature of society

Adopting a clear chronological approach, Black weaves a rich and detailed narrative of the development of war in relation to transformations in the European international system, demonstrating the links between its causes and consequences in the military, political and social spheres. Assimilating decades of important research as well as bringing new perspectives to the topic, War in Europe is a key text for students taking courses in European history, international relations and war studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781474235013
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	02/11/2016
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.62(d)

About the Author

Jeremy Black is Professor of history at the University of Exeter, UK and a Senior Fellow of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, USA. He has written widely on modern military and diplomatic history and his most recent publications include The Power of Knowledge (2013) and War in the Modern World (2014).

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. The Fracturing of the European System, 1450-1600
3. The Creation of Lasting Standing Forces, 1600-1700
4. The Aristocratic Order and the Pressures on it, 1700-1800
5. The Rise of the Bureaucratic State and of Mass Society, 1800-1900
6. The Challenges of Total War and Ideology, 1900-1950
7. The Erosion of the Nation-Army, 1950-2000
8. Modern Society and the Abandonment of War, 2000-
9. Conclusions
Selected Further Reading
Index

Editorial Reviews

Addressing the relationship between war and state formation, Jeremy Black offers a skeptical examination of Charles Tilly's formulation that war made the state and the state made war. Black's study suggests that Tilly's adage tells us more about the centrality of national governments for citizens (and social scientists) in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries than it does about pre-modern states, societies, and war. Black's historiographical breadth and global scope will challenge readers' assumptions regarding well established models, such as the rise of the State, the rise of the West, and the gunpowder revolution.” —Guy Chet, University of North Texas, USA

From the Publisher

Addressing the relationship between war and state formation, Jeremy Black offers a skeptical examination of Charles Tilly's formulation that war made the state and the state made war. Black's study suggests that Tilly's adage tells us more about the centrality of national governments for citizens (and social scientists) in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries than it does about pre-modern states, societies, and war. Black's historiographical breadth and global scope will challenge readers' assumptions regarding well established models, such as the rise of the State, the rise of the West, and the gunpowder revolution.

Guy Chet