John Keegan and the Grand Tradition of Trashing Clausewitz: a Polemic

@article{Bassford1994JohnKA,
  title={John Keegan and the Grand Tradition of Trashing Clausewitz: a Polemic},
  author={Christopher Bassford},
  journal={War in History},
  year={1994},
  volume={1},
  pages={319 - 336}
}
Rather like Cato the Elder, ending every speech with his famous ‘d lenda est Carthago’, the British historian-cum-journalist Basil Liddell Hart (1895-1970) routinely included in his many publications a ringing denunciation of the Prussian military philosopher, Carl von Clausewitz. He occasionally deviated from this practice, e.g., after some authoritative figure like Spenser Wilkinson had publicly pointed out the many errors, inconsistencies and blatant contradictions which Liddell Hart’s… Expand
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Clausewitz, Keegan, and the Big History of Warfare
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Resurrecting the "Icon" The Enduring Relevance of Clausewitz's On War
Abstract : For students of strategy, Carl von Clausewitz has long been a polarizing figure. Notwithstanding their rather different interpretations of "On War," soldiers, statesmen, and scholars such… Expand
War without End(s): The End of Clausewitz?
This article argues that both anti- and pro-Clausewitzians have tended to base their views on an incomplete understanding of Clausewitz. We claim that the so-called ‘new wars’ do not require a new… Expand
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According to Albert Einstein, “You cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war.” (Think/Exist 2009) In a constant state of preparation for war, Carl von Clausewitz penned Vom Kriege. Heavily… Expand
Sandcastle of Theory
Amitai Etzioni’s communitarianism offers an attractive but impractical vision. The global threats that he cites as engines for a communitarian future are not convincing as the triggers for epochal… Expand
Clausewitz first, and last, and always: war, strategy and intelligence in the twenty-first century
[I]n war more than any other subject we must begin by looking at the nature of the whole; for here more than elsewhere the part and the whole must always be thought of together. . .I shall not begin… Expand
Guerrillas in the mist: reassessing strategy and low intensity warfare
The argument advanced here seeks to demonstrate that terms like ‘guerrilla warfare’ and ‘low intensity conflict’ are fundamentally flawed. They do not exist as proper categories of war. Often they… Expand
Busting the Icon. Restoring Balance to the Influence of Clausewitz
Abstract : Many US military thinkers and practitioners have embraced a view of war that is out of touch with current circumstances--and, consequently, dangerous. This has a direct effect on the… Expand
Beyond Vom Kriege: The Character and Conduct of Modern War
This article was first published in the Summer 2005 issue of Parameters. "You may not be interested in war.., but war is interested in you." --Leon Trotsky It is the tragedy of history that man… Expand
New War, Good War and the War on Terror: Explaining, Excusing and Creating Western Neo‐interventionism
This contribution is concerned with the manner in which current dominant security narratives intersect with discourses of imperialism and post-imperialism with regard to the post-Cold War dominance… Expand
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References

SHOWING 1-3 OF 3 REFERENCES
The Conduct of the War
Fuller to Sloane, undated but in reply to letter, Sloane to Fuller
    IV/6/6a, Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives