The shield of Achilles : war, peace, and the course of history / Philip Bobbitt.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bobbitt, Philip.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Nation-state.

International relations.

Peace.

War.

Physical Description:

xxxii, 919 pages ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Knopf, 2002.

Summary:

The Shield of Achilles is a classic inquiry into the nature of the State, its origin in war, and its drive for peace and legitimacy. Philip Bobbitt, a professor of constitutional law and a historian of nuclear strategy, has served in the White House, the Senate, the State Department, and the National Security Council in both Democratic and Republican administrations, and here he brings his formidable experience and analytical gifts to bear on our changing world. Many have observed that the nation-state is dying, yet others have noted that the power of the State has never been greater. Bobbitt reconciles this paradox and introduces the idea of the market-state, which is already replacing its predecessor. Along the way he treats such themes as the Long War (which began in 1914 and ended in 1990). He explains the relation of violence to legitimacy, and the role of key individuals in fates that are partially -- but only partially -- determined.

This book anticipates the coalitional war against terrorism and lays out alternative futures for the world. Bobbitt shows how nations might avoid the great power confrontations that have a potential for limitless destruction, and he traces the origin and evolution of the State to such wars and the peace conferences that forged their outcomes into law, from Augsburg to Westphalia to Utrecht to Vienna to Versailles. The author paints a powerful portrait of the ever-changing interrelatedness of our world, and he uses his expertise in law and strategy to discern the paths that statehood will follow in the coming years and decades. Timely and perceptive, The Shield of Achilles will change the way we think about the world.

Contents:

Book I State of War

Introduction: Law, Strategy, and History 5

Part I The Long War of the Nation-State

1. Thucydides and the Epochal War 21

2. The Struggle Begun: Fascism, Communism, Parliamentarianism, 1914-1919 24

3. The Struggle Continued: 1919-1945 34

4. The Struggle Ended: 1945-1990 45

Part II A Brief History of the Modern State and its Constitutional Orders

5. Strategy and the Constitutional Order 69

6. From Princes to Princely States: 1494-1648 75

7. From Kingly States to Territorial States: 1648-1776 95

8. From State-Nations to Nation-States: 1776-1914 144

9. The Study of the Modern State 205

Part III The Historic Consequences of the Long War

10. The Market-State 213

11. Strategic Choices 243

12. Strategy and the Market-State 283

13. The Wars of the Market-State: Conclusion to Book I Plates I-V 344

Book II States of Peace

Introduction: The Origin of International Law in the Constitutional Order 353

Part I The Society of Nation-States

14. Colonel House and a World Made of Law 367

15. The Kitty Genovese Incident and the War in Bosnia 411

16. The Death of the Society of Nation-States 468

Part II A Brief History of the Society of States and the International Order

17. Peace and the International Order 481

18. The Treaty of Augsburg 486

19. The Peace of Westphalia 501

20. The Treaty of Utrecht 520

21. The Congress of Vienna 538

22. The Versailles Treaty 570

23. The Peace of Paris 609

Part III The Society of Market-States

24. Challenges to the New International Order 667

25. Possible Worlds 715

26. The Coming Age of War and Peace 776

27. Peace in the Society of Market-States: Conclusion to Book II 798

Postscript: The Indian Summer 819

A Note on Eurocentrism 825

A Note on Causality 825

A Note on Periodicity 827.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 889-900) and index.

Local Notes:

Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Sheldon Hackney.

Storage copy inscribed to Sheldon Hackney on t.p.

ISBN:

0375412921

OCLC:

47056406