Ever since Western civilization emerged in Mesopotamia, armed conflict has proven central to the development of that civilization. In this course, we will survey the relationship between war, society, and politics in the West from the earliest Near Eastern civilizations to the present day. First, we will investigate how war both caused and expressed changes in Western politics, society, economics, and culture. By pursuing these themes, we will come to see how war has shaped our world by determining the nature and functions of the state, recasting social organization, influencing economic activity, and molding our thoughts and beliefs. We will also discuss the extent to which these changes were either revolutionary or evolutionary. At the same time, we will attempt to distinguish between different types of armed conflict—total war, absolute war, people's war, guerrilla war, revolutionary war, and modern war—while paying particularly close attention to Clausewitz's theories so that we can better understand the nature and function of war. Last, we will take note of how the battlefield environment and the experience of war have both changed and remained constant over the centuries.
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Copyrighted by Hugh Dubrulle, 2006.