Carl von Clausewitz

His Ideas

Carl von Clausewitz is most famous for writing the military strategy book Vom Kriege (On War), first published in 1832. The book is a compilation of his observations following the Napoleonic Wars.

Related Topics:
Military strategy - On War - 1832

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Clausewitz used a dialectical method to construct his argument, leading to frequent modern misinterpretation. As described by Christopher Bassford, professor of strategy at the National War College:

Related Topics:
Dialectical - National War College

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One of the main sources of confusion about Clausewitz's approach lies in his dialectical method of presentation. For example, Clausewitz's famous line that "War is merely a continuation of politics," while accurate as far as it goes, was not intended as a statement of fact. It is the antithesis in a dialectical argument whose thesis is the point?made earlier in the analysis?that "war is nothing but a duel on a larger scale." His synthesis, which resolves the deficiencies of these two bold statements, says that war is neither "nothing but" an act of brute force nor "merely" a rational act of politics or policy. This synthesis lies in his "fascinating trinity" : a dynamic, inherently unstable interaction of the forces of violent emotion, chance, and rational calculation.http://www.clausewitz.com/CWZHOME/CWZSUMM/CWORKHOL.htm

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Among these confusions has been that Clausewitz was the origin of the concept of total war as used in 1940s' Third Reich Propaganda. Clausewitz, however, did not coin the phrase as a ideologic ideal, but as an inevitable part of the equations underlying his theories: War, as any struggle or competition, cannot be waged in a limited way, as the rules of competition will force the opponents to go to their utmost possibilities and devote all means they have to victory. Similarly, his statement "War is merely the continuation of policy by other means," is perhaps his most oft-quoted and even more often missed point. It has been intepreted by some as the idea that war is only the "strong arm" of diplomacy, utilized when more peaceful means of persuasion are not sufficient; and by others, that military should only serve the politic and not end in itself.

Related Topics:
Total war - War - Diplomacy

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