What is total war? Definitions abound, but one thing is certain--the concept of total war has come to be seen as a defining concept of the modern age. In The Age of Total War, celebrated historian Jeremy Black explores the rise and demise of an era of total war, which he defines in terms of the intensity of the struggle, the range (geographical and/or chronological) of conflict, the nature of the goals, and the extent to which civil society was involved. He contends that this era (roughly 1860-1945) was markedly different from the warfare that characterized earlier periods, and that it is very different from the situation that has evolved since, with its emphasis on asymmetrical conflict and limited warfare. Acknowledging that various definitions are problematic and often contradictory, Black argues that 1860 to 1945 was an era in which the prospect of war and the consequences of it were crucially important for human history. He focuses primarily on conflict between Western powers, including Japanese participation in the Russo-Japanese War. Trends and developments subsequent to 1945 have combined, Black asserts, to make a return to total war unlikely.

This book explores for the first time the literature of absolute war in connection to World War II. From a transnational and comparative standpoint, it addresses a set of theoretical, historical, and literary questions, shedding new light on the nature of absolute war, the literature on the world war of 1939–45, and modern war writing in general. It determines the main features of the language of absolute war, and how it gravitates around fundamental semantic clusters, such as the horror, terror, and the specter. The Literature of Absolute War studies the variegated responses given by literary authors to the extreme and seemingly unsolvable challenges posed by absolute war to epistemology, ethics, and language. It also delves into the different poetics that articulate the writing on absolute war, placing special emphasis on four literary practices: traditional realism, traumatic realism, the fantastic, and catastrophic modernism.

New interpretations of the Indian army of the Raj.

These essays honor Dennis Showalter, a pioneer in the field of military history. Written by some of the most highly-respected scholars in the field, they cover a wide range of topics from the ancient world to the present day.

This book uses cross-cultural analysis across Eurasia and Afro-Asia to trace the roots of contemporary border disputes and insurgencies in South Asia. It discusses the way frontiers of British India, and consequently the modern states of India and Pakistan, were drafted through negotiations backed up by organized violence, showing how this conce

In this far-reaching exploration of the evolution of warfare in human history, Jack S. Levy and William R. Thompson provide insight into the perennial questions of why and how humans fight. Beginning with the origins of warfare among foraging groups, The Arc of War draws on a wealth of empirical data to enhance our understanding of how war began and how it has changed over time. The authors point to the complex interaction of political economy, political and military organization, military technology, and the threat environment—all of which create changing incentives for states and other actors. They conclude that those actors that adapt survive, and those that do not are eliminated. In modern times, warfare between major powers has become exceedingly costly and therefore quite rare, while lesser powers are too weak to fight sustained and decisive wars or to prevent internal rebellions. Conceptually innovative and historically sweeping, The Arc of War represents a significant contribution to the existing literature on warfare.

Accustomed to conducting low-intensity warfare before 1914, the Indian Army learnt to engage in high-intensity conventional warfare during the course of World War I, thereby exhibiting a steep learning curve. Being the bulwark of the British Empire in South Asia, the ‘brown warriors’ of the Raj functioned as an imperial fire brigade during the war. Studying the Indian Army as an institution during the war, Kaushik Roy delineates its social, cultural, and organizational aspects to understand its role in the scheme of British imperial projects. Focusing not just on ‘history from above’ but also ‘history from below’, Roy analyses the experiences of common soldiers and not just those of the high command. Moreover, since society, along with the army, was mobilized to provide military and non-military support, this volume sheds light on the repercussions of this mass mobilization on the structure of British rule in South Asia. Using rare archival materials, published autobiographies, and diaries, Roy’s work offers a holistic analysis of the military performance of the Indian Army in major theatres during the war.

This interdisciplinary Handbook brings together into one coherent volume a range of international authors, who firmly establish the relevance of war within the discipline of criminology. The chapters address emerging and prevailing issues in the criminological study of war, including state crime, corporate crime, victimology, genocide, policing, security and various forms of violence. Taking a critical standpoint including feminist, cultural, and radical approaches amongst others, the Handbook is split into five clear sections: (1) The Criminogenic Contexts of War; (2) Violence and Victimization at War; (3) Violence, War and Security; (4) Perpetrators of Violence and the Aftermath of War; and (5) Cultural and Methodological Developments for a Criminology of War. Edited by two leading experts in the field, this Handbook provides an original point of reference on the contemporary debates and applications of criminology and war and will be a key resource for academics and students across criminology, international relations, critical military studies, military sociology, peace studies and law.

In the interwar period potential future military conflict seemed particularly devastating for military and civilian society alike, thanks to developments in chemical, air and armoured warfare. This study analyses how a small state, the Netherlands, approached this conundrum and aimed to survive a future war.

A global account of military strategy, which examines the practices, rather than the theories, of the most significant military figures of the past 400 years Strategy has existed as long as there has been organised conflict. In this new account, Jeremy Black explores the ever-changing relationship between purpose, force, implementation, and effectiveness in military strategy and its dramatic impact on the development of the global power system. Taking a “total” view of strategy, Black looks at leading powers—notably the United States, China, Britain, and Russia—in the wider context of their competition and their domestic and international strengths. Ranging from France’s ancien régime and Britain’s empire building to present-day conflicts in the Middle East, Black devotes particular attention to the strategic practice and decisions of the Kangxi Emperor, Clausewitz, Napoleon, and Hitler.