by Jeremy Black, editor
Roma: Società Italiana di Storia Militare, 2024. Pp. 549.
Illus., maps, notes. Downloadable *. ISBN:978-88-946984-6-6
Strategy Across the Ages and Around the GlobeProf. Black, who numbers among his books several on strategy, most recently Military Strategy: A Global History, and the Italian Society for Military History, have collected over a score of scholarly papers examining strategy as practiced across the ages by a broad range of different nations and peoples.
In his introduction, Black points out that strategy is not a fix concept,
“ . . . there is no ‘Ur’ or fundamental state of, or for, strategy, and thus no one description of it; and that is so whether or not we are considering theory or practice. Instead, there are significant variations, with a variety of factors, contexts and spheres, the words all have differing connotations, at play.”
The titles of a few of these papers will illustrate the variety and scope of the cases considered.
“Escalation Dominance in Antiquity”
“Imperial Chinese Strategy, A Play in Three Acts” “ Spanish Grand Strategy c. 1479 / 1500—1800 / 1830” “War, Strategy, and Environment on South Asia’s Northwestern Frontier, 1000-1800” "‘New Paths to Wisdom’: Clausewitz, From Practice to Theory” “Hitler and German Strategy 1933-1945” “Russian Strategy Across Three Eras: Imperial, Soviet, and Contemporary”
Each of the papers is by a noted specialist in the period and society under discussion. An important read for anyone interested in the concept of strategy or in the particular periods and peoples covered in the essays.
Overall, what these papers demonstrate is that there are many different strategies that a power may adopt, based on its unique history, culture, religion, politics, social institutions, resources, geography, and more.
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