{"product_id":"an-improbable-war-9780857453105","title":"An Improbable War","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe First World War has been described as the primordial catastrophe of the twentieth century. Arguably, Italian Fascism, German National Socialism and Soviet Leninism and Stalinism would not have emerged without the cultural and political shock of World War I. The question why this catastrophe happened therefore preoccupies historians to this day. The focus of this volume is not on the consequences, but rather on the connection between the Great War and the long 19th century, the short- and long-term causes of World War I. This approach results in the questioning of many received ideas about the war''s causes, especially the notion of inevitability.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e \t\u003ci\u003e\"...outstanding scholarly analyses...These essays comprise a valuable addition to the never-ending debate on the causes of the Great War.\"\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e  ·  Stand To! The Journal of the Western Front Association\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003ci\u003e\"...vigorously and thoughtfully renews one of the great, enduring questions of twentieth-century European and world history. This is a landmark book that sums up the state of research and suggests fruitful possibilities for going forward.\"\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e  ·  German Studies Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003ci\u003e\"The value of the book is in the chapters, all of which are thoughtful and well argued.\"\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e  ·  The International History Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cem\u003e\"Like any provocative book, this one forced me to rethink some of my historiographical assumptions.\"\u003c\/em\u003e  ·  \u003cstrong\u003eBryan Ganaway,\u003c\/strong\u003e College of Charleston\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e \tList of Maps\u003cbr\u003e \tList of Illustrations\u003cbr\u003e \tList of Tables\u003cbr\u003e \tAcknowledgements\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cb\u003eForeword:\u003c\/b\u003e President Jimmy Carter: A Century of War and Peace\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cb\u003eIntroduction\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cb\u003ePART I: EUROPEAN STATESCRAFT AND THE QUESTION OF WAR AND PEACE BEFORE 1914\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cb\u003eChapter 1.\u003c\/b\u003e Stealing Horses to Great Applause: Austria-Hungary's Decision in 1914 in Systemic Perspective\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003ci\u003ePaul W. Schroeder\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cb\u003eChapter 2.\u003c\/b\u003e Did Norms Matter in Nineteenth-Century International Relations? Progress and Decline in the \"Culture of Peace\" before World War I\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003ci\u003eMatthias Schulz\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cb\u003eChapter 3.\u003c\/b\u003e Aggressive and Defensive Aims of Political Elites? Austro-Hungarian Policy in 1914\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003ci\u003eSamuel R. Williamson, Jr.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cb\u003eChapter 4.\u003c\/b\u003e The Curious Case of the Kaiser's Disappearing War Guilt: Wilhelm II in July 1914\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003ci\u003eJohn C. G. Röhl\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cb\u003ePART II: THE MILITARY SITUATION BEFORE 1914: EUROPE BETWEEN HOT AND COLD WAR\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cb\u003eChapter 5.\u003c\/b\u003e Chances and Limits of Armament Control 1898-1914\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003ci\u003eJost Dülffer\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cb\u003eChapter 6.\u003c\/b\u003e The Naval Race before 1914: Was a Peaceful Outcome Thinkable?\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003ci\u003eMichael Epkenhans\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cb\u003eChapter 7.\u003c\/b\u003e Was a Peaceful Solution Thinkable? The European Land Armaments Race before 1914\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003ci\u003eDavid Stevenson\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cb\u003eChapter 8.\u003c\/b\u003e The German and Austro-Hungarian General Staffs and their Reflections on an Impossible War\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003ci\u003eGünther Kronenbitter\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cb\u003ePART III: HOPES AND FEARS OF WAR AND PEACE: SUBJECTIVE EXPECTATIONS AND UNSPOKEN ASSUMPTIONS IN EUROPEAN SOCIETIES BEFORE 1914\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cb\u003eChapter 9.\u003c\/b\u003e The Topos of Improbable War in Europe before 1914\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003ci\u003eHolger Afflerbach\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cb\u003eChapter 10.\u003c\/b\u003e Unfought Wars: The Effect of Détente before World War I\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003ci\u003eFriedrich Kiešling\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cb\u003eChapter 11.\u003c\/b\u003e \"War Enthusiasm?\" Public Opinion and the Outbreak of War in 1914\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003ci\u003eRoger Chickering\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cb\u003eChapter 12.\u003c\/b\u003e Education for War, Peace, and Patriotism in Russia on the Eve of World War I\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003ci\u003eJoshua A. Sanborn\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cb\u003ePART IV: CULTURE, GENDER, RELIGIOSITY, AND THE COMING OF WAR\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cb\u003eChapter 13.\u003c\/b\u003e Honor, Gender, and Power: The Politics of Satisfaction in Pre-War Europe\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003ci\u003eUte Frevert\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cb\u003eChapter 14.\u003c\/b\u003e International Solidarity in European and North American Protestantism before 1914 and after\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003ci\u003eHartmut Lehmann\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cb\u003eChapter 15.\u003c\/b\u003e International Relations, Arts, and Culture before 1914\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003ci\u003eJessica C. E. Gienow-Hecht\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cb\u003ePART V: THE PERSPECTIVE FROM AFAR: THE OUTBREAK OF WAR IN EUROPE IN THE EYES OF OTHER CONTINENTS\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cb\u003eChapter 16.\u003c\/b\u003e War as the Savior? Hopes for War and Peace in Ottoman Politics before 1914\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003ci\u003eMustafa Aksakal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cb\u003eChapter 17.\u003c\/b\u003e The View from Japan: War and Peace in Europe around 1914\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003ci\u003eFrederick R. Dickinson\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \t\u003cb\u003eChapter 18.\u003c\/b\u003e War, Peace, and Commerce: The American Reaction to the Outbreak of World War I in Europe\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003ci\u003eFraser J. Harbutt\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \tContributors\u003cbr\u003e \tSelected Bibliography\u003cbr\u003e \tIndex of Names\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Berghahn Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51038908449111,"sku":"9780857453105","price":25.16,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780857453105.jpg?v=1750941894","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/an-improbable-war-9780857453105","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}