Harsh Thakor*
Carl von Clausewitz remains one of history’s most original military thinkers. His writings extend beyond particular conflicts and elevate the study of warfare to a broader theoretical level. By examining the relationship between war and politics, the interaction between governments, military leadership, and society, and the dynamics that drive escalation, he created a body of work that has continued to shape discussions of strategy since the 19th century.
Interestingly, his ideas found their most attentive readers not only among professional military officers but also among those engaged in movements of popular resistance and unconventional warfare. While his influence on Lenin has been widely discussed, the connections to Engels, Mao, Giáp, and others are less well known. The first French edition of Clausewitz and the People’s War explored these links and examined revolutionary warfare through new perspectives.
The recent republication of Clausewitz and the People’s War and Other Politico-Military Essays by Foreign Languages Press, two decades after its original appearance, seeks to renew this discussion. This revised and expanded edition includes dedicated chapters on leaders such as Mao and Giáp, drawing on newly available sources such as Giáp’s memoirs and Mao’s reading notes.
The author, T. Derbent, has long studied the adaptation of Clausewitz’s ideas in modern contexts and has produced extensive research on how they intersected with various political and military traditions. His work traces both the intellectual relationship between Clausewitz and later theorists and the ways in which specific military doctrines drew on or diverged from Clausewitzian principles.
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