Carl von Clausewitz, Historical and Political Writings

"Among Clausewitz’s writings, history and contemporary history outnumber theory. Most though not all of his histories have war as their subject, but even when his theme is a campaign or an entire war, he often addresses matters that go beyond the strictly military and beyond such issues closely associated with war as diplomacy and politics. One of his most original works, a study of the war of 1806 in which Napoleon smashed the Prussian army, devotes much space to such topics as the history of the Prussian state, its political traditions and mythology, the strengths and weaknesses of its governmental structure and bureaucracy, the personalities of its leading political and military figures, and the political attitudes of various segments of the population. It was self-evident to Clausewitz that these non-military factors had a direct or indirect bearing on military institutions and policy, and that no history of the war should marginalise them. Since every war has a political purpose, and the opposing armies and their actions are the products of social and political forces, it is risky to exclude these elements from strategic and operational history. Their study may have something to contribute even on the tactical level. Support Five Books Five Books interviews are expensive to produce. If you're enjoying this interview, please support us by donating a small amount . Not only was a broad perspective necessary to the historical understanding of the larger characteristics of a conflict, history gave Clausewitz the basis for his theoretical understanding of war: his recognition of its timeless elements, which could not be converted to eternal strategic and operational rules because history also revealed the changes over time in social, intellectual, and psychic realities and in technological development. In his youth it was his recognition of the difference between conditions before and after the French Revolution that started Clausewitz on the path toward a theoretical analysis of war, and he continued studying and writing history until almost the end of his life. This edition of his historical and political writings contains some of his shorter pieces and chapters from longer works on a variety of subjects, which document the close connection in his thought between the study of the past and the understanding of war."