Book Review: Fascist and Liberal Visions of War: Fuller, Liddell Hart, Douhet, and Other Modernists

Archives

by Azar Gat

Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1998. Pp. xiv, 334. Notes, biblio., index. $85. ISBN:0-19-820715-8

The third in a series of volumes tracing the evolution of modern military thought (the previous ones are The Origins of Military Thought: From the Enlightenment to Clausewitz and The Development of Military Thought: The Nineteenth Century), Fascist and Liberal Visions of War deals with what might be termed the divergence of military that developed between the world wars, into a between those who focused on technology for the clash of forces – which Gat suggests had strong ties to fascism (though he perhaps might better have used totalitarianism), which led to World War II, and a more liberal approach which stressed economic and political conflict of protracted duration, that is a “cold war,” the origins of which he traces to the 1930s, when it failed, only to succeed later. An interesting, insightful, and thought-provoking work.
Reviewer: A. A. Nofi   


Buy it at Amazon.com

X

ad

Help Keep StrategyPage Open

First came Facebook, then came Twitter, and finally, AI has arrived. They have all caused a decline in our business, but AI may be the deadliest innovation. We are currently in survival mode. Our writers and staff receive no payment in some months, and even when they do, it is below the minimum wage for their efforts. You can support us with your donations or subscriptions. Please help us keep our doors open.

Make sure you spread the word about us. Two ways to do that are to like us on Facebook and follow us on X.

Subscribe   Donate   Close