A global account of military strategy throughout history, from imperial strategies to those of anti-imperial insurgents

Strategy has existed as long as there has been organized conflict. In this new account, Jeremy Black explores the ever-changing relationship between purpose, force, implementation and effectiveness in military strategy and its dramatic impact on the development of the global power system.

Taking a “total” view of strategy, Black looks at leading powers—notably the United States, China, Britain, and Russia—in the wider context of their competition and their domestic and international strengths. He argues that specific strategies are seen at particular periods of historical development. Ranging from France’s Ancien Regime and Britain’s empire building to present-day conflicts in the Middle East, Black devotes particular attention to the strategic practice or ideas of the Kangxi Emperor, Clausewitz, Napoleon, and Hitler.

Jeremy Black is professor of history at the University of Exeter, UK. He has published widely in military history, including War and the World and Air Power. His other works include Maps and History and Naval Warfare.