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War and the Liberal Conscience
Excellent Book
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
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203 people want to read
About the author
Michael Eliot Howard
61 books78 followersSir Michael Eliot Howard was an English military historian, formerly Chichele Professor of the History of War, Honorary Fellow of All Souls College, Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford, Robert A. Lovett Professor of Military and Naval History at Yale University, and founder of the Department of War Studies, King's College London.
In 1958, he co-founded the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
In 2013, Howard was described in the Financial Times as "Britain's greatest living historian". The Guardian described him as "Britain's foremost expert on conflict".
In 1958, he co-founded the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
In 2013, Howard was described in the Financial Times as "Britain's greatest living historian". The Guardian described him as "Britain's foremost expert on conflict".
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 30, 2011
It's a shame people do not read military history as much as they should. It teaches us about how we got to our current situation as well as cultural, political or economic history. Michael Howard is one of the greatest historians of the 20th century. His essays are the epitomes of distilled wisdom. In this short book he traces out how Western liberal thought, beginning from the 15th century, has reacted to war. An impressive book.
September 19, 2021
3.5/5
Bit introductory for me, though still learnt some ideas that the KCL War Studies dept founder has had to say. Overall concise. Now perhaps getting onto the German history which I’m relatively unfamiliar with.
Bit introductory for me, though still learnt some ideas that the KCL War Studies dept founder has had to say. Overall concise. Now perhaps getting onto the German history which I’m relatively unfamiliar with.
May 9, 2012
Sir Michael is one of the best historians of the 20th century, especially when it comes to war and British history. It must have been epic to watch these lectures in person.
It is impressive that he fit 500 years of the history of war and war philosophy in such a short book. The 1500-1792 material did not interest me too much. That probably has to do with personal preference, but that chapter is necessary in laying the groundwork for what a 'liberal' is, as defined by belief in human agency, democracy, international cooperation, international relations, etc. When he gets to the French Revolution and Napoleon, the book takes on an entirely new complexion.
The chapters on World War I and World II are enthralling and particularly incisive. WWI and WWII occupy special places in our collective memories, not only because we won both wars, but because they were instrumental in shaping the current world order. As such, the importance of liberalism is shaped through these wars and through their aftermaths. There are the international institutions and cooperation, but Sir Michael tackles an important problem: democracies do not go to war with each other, but they still demonstrate an amazing amount of bellicosity. It was theorized that democracy was the essence for peace. Fascism by definition is war. Democracy, as defined in opposition to Fascism, is peace. However, it has not turned out that way.
The chapters on WWI and WWII are excellent because they explain the psyche of the British public. Obviously, Britain was involved in arms races with Germany and other European nations at the time. That manifested in colonialism in Africa, navy buildups, the militarization of society, and so on. Prussian militarism, however, was not just a focus of the British. Russia's history has been concerned with the same phenomenon. Prussian militarism split the British public in the 1930s with the rise of Chancellor Hitler and Nazism. Some prominent figures in the British government - Labour and Liberal Democrats mostly - seemed to be more okay not just with appeasement but in Germany's right to annex land. The apparition of Versailles animated their beliefs. The insights on the British public and WWI are fascinating, as well, but I knew most of that already. The enthusiasm for that war was so popular that socialist organizations and pacifist groups had to agree to pursue war just to retain support. I believe Italy is the only country in which socialist parties did not support war.
The insights from pursuing an international peace are cursorily mentioned in relation to Korea and Vietnam, as well as American foreign policy. Howard points to Kissinger as reversing traditional liberal foreign policy by playing the power game. The recent material is speculative in a way, but it does show that the liberal idea of peace has probably come to a close (Howard writes after Vietnam).
It is impressive that he fit 500 years of the history of war and war philosophy in such a short book. The 1500-1792 material did not interest me too much. That probably has to do with personal preference, but that chapter is necessary in laying the groundwork for what a 'liberal' is, as defined by belief in human agency, democracy, international cooperation, international relations, etc. When he gets to the French Revolution and Napoleon, the book takes on an entirely new complexion.
The chapters on World War I and World II are enthralling and particularly incisive. WWI and WWII occupy special places in our collective memories, not only because we won both wars, but because they were instrumental in shaping the current world order. As such, the importance of liberalism is shaped through these wars and through their aftermaths. There are the international institutions and cooperation, but Sir Michael tackles an important problem: democracies do not go to war with each other, but they still demonstrate an amazing amount of bellicosity. It was theorized that democracy was the essence for peace. Fascism by definition is war. Democracy, as defined in opposition to Fascism, is peace. However, it has not turned out that way.
The chapters on WWI and WWII are excellent because they explain the psyche of the British public. Obviously, Britain was involved in arms races with Germany and other European nations at the time. That manifested in colonialism in Africa, navy buildups, the militarization of society, and so on. Prussian militarism, however, was not just a focus of the British. Russia's history has been concerned with the same phenomenon. Prussian militarism split the British public in the 1930s with the rise of Chancellor Hitler and Nazism. Some prominent figures in the British government - Labour and Liberal Democrats mostly - seemed to be more okay not just with appeasement but in Germany's right to annex land. The apparition of Versailles animated their beliefs. The insights on the British public and WWI are fascinating, as well, but I knew most of that already. The enthusiasm for that war was so popular that socialist organizations and pacifist groups had to agree to pursue war just to retain support. I believe Italy is the only country in which socialist parties did not support war.
The insights from pursuing an international peace are cursorily mentioned in relation to Korea and Vietnam, as well as American foreign policy. Howard points to Kissinger as reversing traditional liberal foreign policy by playing the power game. The recent material is speculative in a way, but it does show that the liberal idea of peace has probably come to a close (Howard writes after Vietnam).
February 9, 2016
Based on a series of lectures, this book analyses the history of liberalism and how it has conceptualized war throughout history. Engages with the idea that liberal states go to war in order that they shouldn't go to war, and contrasts this with earlier concepts of imperialism as well as fascist and communist conceptualizations of ware.
June 11, 2013
Excellent and still insightful three decades later.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews