War and Power

'Phillips Payson O'Brien is one of our finest historical thinkers.' James Holland, author of Normandy '44

War and power are two of the most-widely discussed issues in all of human history, and yet they are, time and again, misunderstood — often disastrously so.

Whilst we might think the outcome of war is determined by so-called ‘Great Powers’ who dominate their opponents with their impressive size and military prowess, the reality of modern conflict, as renowned strategic historian Professor Phillips Payson O’Brien demonstrates, is very different. He urges us instead to look for ‘Full Spectrum Powers’.

For if we are considering how powerful a nation is and who will win a war, we need to think less about weapons, and more about the economies and societies that produce them; less about individual battles, and more about sustaining campaigns and alliances in which states operate.

Using fascinating examples from the late 19th century to the present day, War and Power explains how misunderstanding war and power has led to terrible, even preventable conflicts – such as the war in Ukraine – and how more accurate analysis can help us consider the potential conflict between the US and China.

War and Power provides a bold new way of understanding the dangerous world around us.