Warfare is the most dangerous threat faced by modern humanity. It is also one of the key influences that has shaped the politics, economics, and society of the modern period. But what do we mean by modern war? What causes modern wars to begin? Why do people fight in them, why do they end, and
what have they achieved?
In this accessible and compelling Very Short Introduction, Richard English explores the assumptions we make about modern warfare and considers them against the backdrop of their historical reality.
Drawing on the wide literature available, including
direct accounts of the experience of war, English provides an authoritative account of modern war: its origins, evolution, dynamics, and current trends.
Acknowledgements
List of illustrations and maps
Introduction
1. What is modern war?
2. What causes modern wars to begin?
3. What has the experience of modern war involved?
4. What have modern wars achieved?
Conclusion: war, terrorism, and the
future
References
Further reading
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Richard English is Director of the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence, and Bishop Wardlaw Professor of Politics in the School of International Relations, at the University of St Andrews. His books have won numerous Awards and include Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA
(2003), Irish Freedom: The History of Nationalism in Ireland (2006), and Terrorism: How to Respond (2009). He has written and lectured widely on political violence, terrorism, nationalism, and religion, and on Irish and British politics and history. He is a Fellow of the British Academy, a Member of
Royal Irish Academy, and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
