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The Origins Of Western Warfare - Militarism And Morality In The Ancient World (Paperback, Revised)
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The Origins Of Western Warfare - Militarism And Morality In The Ancient World (Paperback, Revised)
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What is the source of the uniquely Western way of war, the
persistent militarism that has made Europe the site of bloodshed
throughout history and secured the dominance of the West over the
rest of the world? The answer, Doyne Dawson persuasively argues in
this groundbreaking new book, is to be found in the very bedrock of
Western civilization: ancient Greece and Rome.The Origins of
Western Warfare begins with an overview of primitive warfare,
showing how the main motivations of prehistoric combat?revenge and
honor?set the tone for Greek thinking about questions of war and
morality. These ideas, especially as later developed by the Romans,
ensured the emergence of a distinctive Western tradition of
warfare: dynamic, aggressive, and devastatingly successful when
turned against non-Western cultures.Dawson identifies key factors
that led Western culture down this particular path. First, the
Greeks argued that war could be justified as an instrument of human
and divine justice, securing the social and cosmic order. Second,
war was seen as a rational instrument of foreign policy. This,
probably the most original contribution of the Greeks to military
thought, was articulated as early as the fifth century b.c.
Finally, Greek military thought was dominated by the principle of
?civic militarism,? in which the ideal state is based upon
self-governing citizens trained and armed for war.The Roman version
of civic militarism became thoroughly imperial in spirit, and in
general, the Romans successfully modified these Greek ideas to
serve their expansionist policies. At the end of antiquity, these
traditions were passed on to medieval Europe, forming the basis for
the just war doctrines of the Church. Later, in early modern
Europe, they were fully revived, systematized, and given a basis in
natural law?to the benefit of absolute monarchs. For centuries this
neoclassical synthesis served the needs of European elites, and
echoes of it are still heard in contemporary justifications for
war.Providing a careful reconsideration of what the classical
sources tell us about Western thinking on fundamental questions of
war and peace, The Origins of Western Warfare makes a lasting
contribution to our understanding of one of the most persistent and
troubling aspects of Western culture.
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