Clausewitz in the Twenty-First Century

Clausewitz's On War has, at least until very recently, been regarded asthe most important work of theory on its subject. But since the end of the ColdWar 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 itsanalytical edge as a tool for understanding war. They have argued thatClausewitz was concerned solely with inter-state war and with properly definedarmies, and that the sorts of conflicts which he discussed are therefore part ofa historical pattern which dominated Europe between 1648, the end of the ThirtyYears War, and 1990 itself. Some have gone further, and suggested thatClausewitz's best known aphorism, that war is a continuation of policy by othermeans, is not only irrelevant today but also inapplicable historically.Clausewitz in the Twenty-First Century reconsiders the principal themes inClausewitz's writings from a contemporary perspective, and finds in them muchmore inspiration and insight than these generalisations allow. Embracing theperspectives of history, philosophy and political science, the book reconsidersboth the text and its current implications. Traditional interpretations of OnWar are put into fresh light; neglected passages are re-examined; and newinsights are derived from the conjunction between Clausewitz's text and today'schallenges.This book is a project of the Oxford Leverhulme Programme on the ChangingCharacter of War.

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.