Understanding War

These essays provide an introduction to Carl von Clausewitz and enlarge the history of war by joining it to the history of ideas and institutions and linking it with intellectual biography. Reflecting Peter Paret's three decades of study of Clausewitz and of the history of war, they examine Clausewitz's theoretical work in the context of his time and in relation to war as a general historical phenomenon. Although the analytical strength of "On War" makes it far more than a historical document, Clausewitz's ideas and the methods he employed to express, develop, and test them become clearer when his work is seen against a historical background. The first six essays analyze military power in European history and discuss the transformation of war at the end of the 18th century. They provide the historical setting for the following nine essays, which address significant aspects of Clausewitz's life and thought, from the logic of his theories to his aesthetics and his reactions to the revolutions of 1830. The concluding essay examines the history of war as a scholarly discipline.
Together these pieces shed light on Clausewitz, on the age in which he lived, and on his theories, which retain a timeless interest.