The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers; Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000

Kennedy, Paul M.

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Language: English

Published by Random House, New York, 1987

0394546741 / 9780394546742

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25 cm. xxv,[1], 677, [3] pages. Maps Tables and Charts. Notes. Bibliography. Index. DJ has slight wear and soiling. Paul Michael Kennedy CBE FBA (born 17 June 1945) is a British historian specializing in the history of international relations, economic power and grand strategy. He has published prominent books on the history of British foreign policy and great power struggles. He emphasizes the changing economic power base that undergirds military and naval strength, noting how declining economic power leads to reduced military and diplomatic weight. In 1983 he was named the J. Richardson Dilworth professor of British History at Yale. He is now also the Director of International Security Studies and along with John Lewis Gaddis and Charles Hill, teaches the Studies in Grand Strategy course there. In 2012, Professor Kennedy began teaching a course at Yale entitled "Military History of the West Since 1500", elaborating on his presentation of military history as inextricably intertwined with economic power and technological progress. His most well known book, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, assesses the interaction between economics and strategy over the past five centuries. The book was very well received by fellow historians, with A. J. P. Taylor labeling it "an encyclopedia in itself" and Sir Michael Howard crediting it as "a deeply humane book in the very best sense of the word". It has been translated into 23 languages. I The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000, by Paul Kennedy, first published in 1987, explores the politics and economics of the Great Powers from 1500 to 1980 and the reason for their decline. It then continues by forecasting the positions of China, Japan, the European Economic Community (EEC), the Soviet Union and the United States through the end of the 20th century. Kennedy argues that the strength of a Great Power can be properly measured only relative to other powers, and he provides a straightforward thesis: Great Power ascendancy (over the long term or in specific conflicts) correlates strongly to available resources and economic durability; military overstretch and a concomitant relative decline are the consistent threats facing powers whose ambitions and security requirements are greater than their resource base can provide for. Throughout the book he reiterates his early statement (page 71): "Military and naval endeavors may not always have been the raison d'être of the new nations-states, but it certainly was their most expensive and pressing activity", and it remains such until the power's decline. He concludes that declining countries can experience greater difficulties in balancing their preferences for guns, butter and investments. Extracted from a Publishers Weekly article: Kennedy assesses the interaction between economics and strategy over the past five centuries; the correlation between productive and revenue-sharing capacities on the one hand and military strength on the other. The book is a vigorous entry in the debate over the extent to which national wealth should be used for military purposes. It reveals how the Hapsburg monarchs overextended themselves in repeated conflicts, becoming militarily top-heavy while their economic base dwindled, an imbalance that ultimately proved fatal. In a final section, Kennedy explores the implications of today's economic and technological trends in relation to the balance of military power, and the problems and opportunities in this regard facing China, Japan, the European Economic Community, the Soviet Union and the United States.…

Seller Inventory # 24510

Title
The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers; Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000
Author
Kennedy, Paul M.
Publisher
Random House, New York
Publication year
1987
Condition
Very good
Dust jacket
Very good
Binding
Hardcover
Language
English
ISBN 10
0394546741
ISBN 13
9780394546742
Illustrator
Jean Paul Tremblay (Maps) and Van Howell (Jacket A
Edition
Second printing [stated].
Seller catalogs
Arms Control, Industrialization, WWII

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