Revolutionary Armies in the Modern Era: A Revisionist Approach

Revolutionary Armies in the Modern Erashows how armies are successful for pragmatic reasons and provides an international and historical perspective on armies arising in support of socio-political movements This revisionist approach presents a major re-evaluation of the standard view of revolutionary armies, the range of attitudes towards the role of heroic individuals, the formation and leadership of armies, and the differences and similarities between such armies. Beginning with an exploration of the New Model Army of the 1640s, S. P. Mackenzie presents ten case studies from around the globe, including the American War of Independence, The French Revolution, The Zulu-Boer War, the SS Waffen and the Viet-Cong. Through a detailed analysis of source material, he examines the images connected with these armies, both historical and recent, and assesses these images in their socio-political and nationalist contexts.

S.P. MacKenzie is Associate Professor of History, University of South Carolina