1st Edition
Routledge Handbook of the Global History of Warfare
This handbook examines key aspects of the development of the global history of warfare and the changing patterns of warfare over time.
Although scholarship has long eschewed a chronological narrative of the evolution of warfare that privileges the Western experience, global histories of warfare have had difficulty avoiding an overemphasis on the West. The present volume is a collection of themes rather than a history per se; it provides important perspectives on the emergence of warfare as a global historical experience from the ancient past to the present day. Drawing together numerous experts, it tells a broader, more inclusive story of the global, human experience with wars and warfare. The 35 chapters are organised in eight thematic parts:
Part I: Origins of Warfare
Part II: Polities and Armed Forces in the Pre-Modern Era
Part III: Steppe Nomads of Eurasia
Part IV: Naval Warfare and Piracy in the Pre-Industrial World
Part V: The Impact of Gunpowder
Part VI: Transition from Industrial to Total War
Part VII: Wars of Decolonisation and Cold War
Part VIII: Postmodern/New Wars
These Parts offer an overview of the global experience of warfare to help readers understand how the wars and the militaries we see today have been shaped by historical developments across the globe.
This handbook will be of great interest to students of military history, naval history, strategic studies and world history in general.
Introduction: The Evolution of Warfare: Global Perspectives
Kaushik Roy and Michael W. Charney
Part I: Origins of Warfare
1. The Evolution of Bronze Age Warfare, and its Historical Significance in Western Eurasia and the Near East
Robert Drews
2. War, Captive-Taking, and Warriors in Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica
Andrew K. Scherer
3. Indigenous Warfare in Australia and New Zealand
John Connor, Michael W. Charney, and Kaushik Roy
Part II: Polities and Armed Forces in the Pre-modern Era
4. Assyrian Warfare, 1550-609 BCE
Sarah C. Melville
5. The Polis and the Emergence of Hoplite Warfare
Matthew Trundle
6. Transition from Roman to Merovingian Warfare: The Long Fifth Century
Bernard S. Bachrach
7. New Approaches to Late Imperial Chinese Warfare
Kenneth M. Swope
8. Warfare in Precolonial Africa
O.R. Coates
Part III: Steppe Nomads of Eurasia
9. The European Huns
Cameron Barnes
10. Arab-Byzantine Warfare: 660 CE-1040 CE
John Haldon
11. Crusading Armies and the Turks in the Middle East
John D. Hosler
12. The Limits of Mongol Military Power
Timothy May
13. The Cycle of Empire in Central Asia: The Frontier and Beyond
Andrew de la Garza
Part IV: Naval Warfare and Piracy in the Pre-Industrial World
14. The Egyptian Origins of Amphibious Warfare: Out of Africa
Mark Charles Fissel
15. China’s Pirate Wars, 1522-1810
Robert J. Antony
16. Rise of British Naval Power in the Indian Ocean
Amarendra Kumar
Part V: The Impact of Gunpowder
17. Economy and Gunpowder Weapons in Western and Central Europe
Philip T. Hoffman
18. Gunpowder and the Rise of Muscovy: Circa 1200--circa 1800
Kaushik Roy
19. Smallpox and War in America
Erica Charters
20. Gunpowder and the North American Indian Way of War
Kaushik Roy
21. Firearms and Maritime Gunpowder States of Asia
Michael W. Charney
Part VI: Transition from Industrial to Total War
22. Napoleon and Mass Warfare
Andrew Bamford
23. The American Civil War and the Beginning of Total War?
A. James Fuller
24. The British Army, 1870-1918: From Small War to Trench War
Ian F. W. Beckett
25. Theory and Practice of Armoured War during the Two World Wars
Michael W. Charney
26. Race and Conflict in the Asia-Pacific Region: 1941-1945
Mark Johnston
27. Modern Naval Warfare: 1815-2000
Andrew Lambert
28. Strategic Air Power in the Two World Wars
Kathryn Barbier
Part VII: Wars of Decolonisation and Cold War
29. Warfare in the Middle East since 1945
Rob Geist Pinfold
30. Wars of Decolonisation in South Asia: The Indian Army, 1945-47
Alan Jeffreys
31. The Falklands Conflict: The Last British Imperial War?
Rob McLaughlin
Part VIII: Postmodern/New Wars
32. The Global War on Terror: The American Operations in Afghanistan and Iraq
Robert Johnson
33. Private Military Contractors and Conflicts in the New Millennium
Christopher Kinsey
34. The Arms Race in Contemporary East Asia
Andrew T.H. Tan
35. Employment of Air Power in Fourth Generation Warfare: An Indian Perspective
Air Vice Marshal Arjun Subramaniam
Biography
Kaushik Roy is Guru Nanak Chair Professor in the Department of History, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India. He specialises in warfare in Eurasia and is currently associated with the ‘Warring with Machines’ Project of the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), Norway.
Michael W. Charney is Professor of Asian and Military History at SOAS, University of London, where he teaches the history of violence, cities and the emergence of the contemporary world. His work mainly focuses on Southeast Asia and Africa.
‘This is a superlative collection, bringing together some of the finest minds in the field. The essays offer both range and depth, and anyone interested in the history of war from a global perspective will want to have this volume on their bookshelves.’
Richard Reid, Professor of African History, University of Oxford
‘A collection of great importance not only to military historians but also to those interested in global history. Conceptually alert, this volume deserves much attention.’
Jeremy Black, Emeritus Professor, Exeter University
‘In 35 chapters written by distinguished and established historians the Handbook explores warfare from the agrarian Bronze Age through to the challenges of contemporary, ‘postmodern’ conflict. The perspective is uncompromisingly global, and offers remarkable scope for comparative analysis and understanding. The volume is an invaluable and indispensable work for all military historians.’David Parrott, Professor of Early Modern History, University of Oxford
‘This timely compendium, drawing on an impressive mix of established and emerging scholars, provides insights into the conduct and character of wars on a global scale, stretching from the earliest recorded conflicts to the postcolonial and postindustrial conflicts of today. It will quickly become a valuable platform for further scholarship.’
Douglas M. Peers, Professor of History, University of Waterloo