war: References & Edit History
More Articles On This Topic
- Biological Weapons Convention
- famineConditions associated with famine
- Chemical Weapons Convention
- collective violenceWar
- history of MesopotamiaLiterary and other historical sources
- nation-stateNation-state formation and war
- guerrilla
- ideologyIdeology of the Cold War
- prisoner of war
- rules of engagement
- total war
- Killer RobotsThe Future of War?
- Aelianus
- Alexander the GreatBeginnings of the Persian expedition
- Carl von ClausewitzEarly military career
- Jean-Charles, chevalier de Folard
- Erich LudendorffPostwar political activities
- Alfred Thayer Mahan
- Helmuth von MoltkeChief of the general staff
- Alfred von Schlieffen
- ShakaReorganization of the army
- Zhu De
- Jan, Count Žižka
- covenantThe covenant at Sinai
- TaoismLaozi and the Tao-te Ching
- ethicsWar and peace
- George Bernard Shaw on socialism
- Hugo GrotiusLife in exile: De Jure Belli ac Pacis
- Thomas HobbesPolitical philosophy of Thomas Hobbes
- libertarianismInternational relations
- Leo TolstoyWar and Peace
- Thorstein VeblenLater works and career
Additional Reading
Carl von Clausewitz, On War, 3 vol. in 1 (1873; originally published in German, 3 vol., 1832–34), remains a classic on the theory of war and is available in many later editions both in the original and in English translation, of which the one edited by and with commentary by Michael Howard and Peter Paret (1976) can be recommended. Other outstanding classical philosophical treatments are Immanuel Kant, Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Essay (1903, reissued 1972; originally published in German, 1795), also available in later editions, some entitled Eternal Peace; John Stuart Mill, On Liberty (1859) and Considerations on Representative Government (1861), both available in the selection published as Political Writings (1981), in “The Great Books of the Western World” series; and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, A Lasting Peace Through the Federation of Europe, and The State of War, trans. from French (1917).
Explanations of war as a product of imperialism are found in J.A. Hobson, Imperialism, 3rd rev. ed. (1938, reprinted 1988); and in Marxist writings. Psychological theories of war are best expressed in Sigmund Freud, Civilization, War, and Death, new ed., ed. by John Rickman (1953, reprinted 1968); and ethological theories in Robert Ardrey, The Territorial Imperative (1966, reissued 1978); and Konrad Lorenz, On Aggression (1966, reprinted 1974; originally published in German, 1963). Norman Angell, The Great Illusion: A Study of the Relation of Military Power in Nations to Their Economic and Social Advantage (1910), is an early economic study, available in many later editions. Reinhold Niebuhr, Moral Man and Immoral Society (1932, reprinted 1960), analyzes war from the ethical point of view.
A comprehensive modern analysis is Quincy Wright, A Study of War, 2nd ed. (1964). Other major contemporary general analyses are Raymond Aron, The Century of Total War (1954, reprinted 1985); Kenneth N. Waltz, Man, the State, and War (1959, reprinted 1965); and Hans J. Morgenthau and Kenneth W. Thompson, Politics Among Nations, 6th ed. (1985). On nuclear war, see Herman Kahn, On Escalation: Metaphors and Scenarios (1965, reprinted 1986). Inis L. Claude, Jr., Swords into Plowshares, 4th ed. (1971, reprinted 1984), discusses United Nations approaches to peace. Later studies include Evan Luard, War in International Society: A Study in International Sociology (1986), a broad and systematic view of war in history; J. David Singer et al., Explaining War: Selected Papers from the Correlates of War Project (1979); and Melvin Small and J. David Singer, Resort to Arms: International and Civil Wars, 1816–1980, rev. ed. (1982).
Article Contributors
Primary Contributors
- Joseph Frankel
-
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors
Article History
| Type | Description | Contributor | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modified link of Web site: Social Sciences LibreTexts - War in International Relations. | Sep 18, 2026 | ||
| Add new Web site: National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Mental health consequences of war: a brief review of research findings. | Nov 07, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: CORE - Oda Nobunaga, Guns, and Early Modern Warfare in Japan (PDF). | Sep 06, 2025 | ||
| Media added. | Jun 20, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: Social Sciences LibreTexts - War in International Relations. | Apr 27, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: World History Encyclopedia - Warfare. | Jan 05, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: HistoryNet - The Origins of War. | Jan 05, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia - War. | Nov 09, 2022 | ||
| Add new Web site: History World - History of Warfare - Land. | Aug 24, 2022 | ||
| Add new Web site: Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy - The Philosophy of War. | Aug 18, 2022 | ||
| Corrected display issue. | Mar 02, 2021 | ||
| Corrected display issue. | Oct 30, 2019 | ||
| Add new Web site: World History Encyclopedia - Warfare. | Oct 24, 2019 | ||
| Media added. | Mar 03, 2017 | ||
| Media added. | Jun 25, 2014 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | Dec 02, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: The Catholic Encyclopedia - War. | Jul 31, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: PBS Online - Medieval Seige. | Oct 20, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: World History International - Warfare. | Sep 19, 2006 | ||
| Article revised. | Aug 16, 2000 | ||
| Article added to new online database. | Jul 26, 1999 |