Handbook

The course emphasises the changing nature of warfare and the forces employed in it, discussing such topics as the emergence of professional standing armies, the growth of centralised bureaucratic power, the development of staff systems and of professionalism, problems of reform, and the importance of wider political, social and economic … For more content click the Read More button below. The study of the art and science of warfare provides an important, even fundamental, insight into both the constructive as well as destructive sides of human nature, and at the same time reveals much about the development of civilized societies, technology and the development of the state. This course charts the evolution of warfare mainly, but not exclusively, in a European context and concentrates on professional, technological and intellectual developments rather than political and sociological factors, which form a more peripheral part of the discussion.