Thucydides on strategy : grand strategies in the Pelopennesian War and their relevance today

Masterfully crafted and surprisingly modern, "History of the Peloponnesian War" has long been celebrated as an insightful, eloquent, and exhaustively detailed work of classical Greek history. The text is also remarkable for its deep political and military dimensions, and scholars have begun to place the work alongside Sun Tzu's The Art of War and Clausewitz's On War as one of the great treatises on strategy. The perfect companion to Thucydides' impressive History, this volume details the specific strategic concepts at work within the History of the Peloponnesian War and demonstrates, through case studies of recent conflicts in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq, the continuing relevance of Thucydidean thought to an analysis and planning of strategic operations. Some have even credited Thucydides with founding the discipline of international relations. Written by two scholars with extensive experience in this and related fields, Thucydides on Strategy situates the classical historian solidly in the modern world of war. Masterfully crafted and surprisingly modern, Thucydides's History of the Peloponnesian War has long been celebrated as an insightful, eloquent, and exhaustively detailed work of classical Greek history. Scholars have also admired the text's deep political and military dimensions. Written in the fifth century B.C.E., the History of the Peloponnesian War has been placed alongside Sun Tzu's The Art of War and Carl von Clausewitz's On War as one of the great treatises on strategy. The perfect companion to Thucydides's impressive text, this volume details the strategic concepts at work within the History of the Peloponnesian War and demonstrates how, through case studies of recent conflicts in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq, Thucydidean thought remains vital to the analysis of strategic operations. Some scholars have credited Thucydides with founding the discipline of international relations. Written by scholars with extensive experience in this and related fields, Thucydides on Strategy situates the historian solidly within the annals of classical history and within the world of modern war. "This volume details the strategic concepts at work within the History of the Peloponnesian War and demonstrates how, through case studies of recent conflicts in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq, Thucydidean thought remains vital to the analysis to strategic operations"--Jacket Chronology -- Grand strategy : a framework for analysis -- Athens and Sparta : power structures, early conflict, and the causes of war -- Periclean grand strategy -- Spartan grand strategy -- Thucydides and strategy in perspective -- Annex: Strategic concepts in Thucydides