Framing the First World War
How Divergent Views Shaped a Global Conflict
Published on 18. November 2025
Book
Hardback
328 pages
978-0-7006-4056-0 (ISBN)
Description
This innovative approach to the history of World War I looks at ways in which military actors saw and perceived war, and how that exerted a significant influence over the decisions they made and the actions they took.
The character of the conflict that erupted in 1914 defied the expectations of many political leaders and military analysts. Despite the mountains of books and articles published on World War I, there has been surprisingly little systematic or comparative research on how military commanders and politicians framed and interpreted the conflict - or, indeed, on how they understood war itself - and how that understanding shaped their decision-making.
Wars are fought by organizations and people who have disparate visions of the world they live in and the conflict they are fighting. In Framing the First World War, a team of leading scholars explore the gulf between imagined warfare and the realities of battle. By doing so, they investigate how the military forces that contested the First World War framed the conflict they were involved in and how those perspectives shaped and influenced the ways in which they sought to understand, conduct, and respond to the war. They use the notion of 'frames' and the concept of 'framing' to enable us to engage directly with the complexity and diversity of the conflict, which was fought for different reasons and in different ways, incorporating a range of issues with implications for the conduct of the war. Improving our appreciation of how commanders saw the world around them and their views on the war they were conducting opens up valuable new approaches for understanding debates over the higher direction of the conflict and the civil-military relations that underpinned them. The contributors to Framing the First World War work towards a fuller historical appraisal of how military figures understood the war, moving beyond a purely military analysis to incorporate broader cultural and social topics, including education, medicine, politics, and law.
The character of the conflict that erupted in 1914 defied the expectations of many political leaders and military analysts. Despite the mountains of books and articles published on World War I, there has been surprisingly little systematic or comparative research on how military commanders and politicians framed and interpreted the conflict - or, indeed, on how they understood war itself - and how that understanding shaped their decision-making.
Wars are fought by organizations and people who have disparate visions of the world they live in and the conflict they are fighting. In Framing the First World War, a team of leading scholars explore the gulf between imagined warfare and the realities of battle. By doing so, they investigate how the military forces that contested the First World War framed the conflict they were involved in and how those perspectives shaped and influenced the ways in which they sought to understand, conduct, and respond to the war. They use the notion of 'frames' and the concept of 'framing' to enable us to engage directly with the complexity and diversity of the conflict, which was fought for different reasons and in different ways, incorporating a range of issues with implications for the conduct of the war. Improving our appreciation of how commanders saw the world around them and their views on the war they were conducting opens up valuable new approaches for understanding debates over the higher direction of the conflict and the civil-military relations that underpinned them. The contributors to Framing the First World War work towards a fuller historical appraisal of how military figures understood the war, moving beyond a purely military analysis to incorporate broader cultural and social topics, including education, medicine, politics, and law.
Reviews / Votes
"A brilliant intervention which makes compelling claims about new First World War military history. Showcasing the latest historical findings in exciting and thought-provoking ways, this is a must-read on a conflict that remains formative for understanding our modern world." - Heather Jones, author of For King and Country: The British Monarchy and the First World War"This exquisite collection of essays, from three of the most talented military historians in the field, shows how rich and original the study of the First World War still can be. Its twelve beautifully curated 'frames' deepen immeasurably our understanding of politics, international order, social relations, military learning, and strategy before the war, during the war, and after the war. They also give a glimpse of what is possible for study of war in general." - Douglas E. Delaney, author of The Imperial Army Project: Britain and the Land Forces of the Dominions and India, 1902 - 1945
"Framing the First World War provides a truly global scope as well as social and cultural perspectives. The editors have assembled an outstanding team of scholars who shed light on the war's impact beyond the Western Front, offering valuable insights into the experiences of colonial and non-European participants." - Michael S. Neiberg, author of When France Fell: The Vichy Crisis and the Fate of the Anglo-American Alliance
"This volume offers valuable insights into how the First World War's participants 'framed' the conflict in which they were embroiled. Embracing a global perspective that incorporates diverse subfields and methodologies, the editors set a new standard for comparative studies of how militaries learned from their allies and were influenced by developments across multiple theatres of war. One would be hard pressed to find a more talented group of scholars represented in a single volume." - Brian Feltman, author of The Stigma of Surrender: German Prisoners, British Captors, and Manhood in the Great War and Beyond
"Framing the First World War lays out a range of deeply useful insights shaped by a compelling investigative lens to help us comprehend one of the bloodiest and certainly the most important conflict of the modern era, a war that remains less than perfectly understood. This is a critically valuable work for scholars and students alike." - David Silbey, editor of Wars Civil and Great: The American Experience in the Civil War and World War
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Kansas
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 164 mm
Thickness: 33 mm
Weight
694 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7006-4056-0 (9780700640560)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Michael P. M. Finch | Aimée Fox | David G. Morgan-Owen
Framing the First World War
How Divergent Views Shaped a Global Conflict
E-Book
11/2025
University Press of Kansas
€31.99
Available for download
Persons
Michael P. M. Finch is associate professor in the Centre for Future Defence and National Security, Deakin University. He is the author of Making Makers: The Past, the Present, and the Study of War.
AimEe Fox is a senior lecturer in Defence Studies at King's College London. She is the author of Learning to Fight: Military Innovation and Change in the British Army, 1914-1918.
David G. Morgan-Owen is a reader in the History of War at King's College London. He is the author of The Fear of Invasion: Strategy, Politics, and British War Planning, 1880-1914.
AimEe Fox is a senior lecturer in Defence Studies at King's College London. She is the author of Learning to Fight: Military Innovation and Change in the British Army, 1914-1918.
David G. Morgan-Owen is a reader in the History of War at King's College London. He is the author of The Fear of Invasion: Strategy, Politics, and British War Planning, 1880-1914.