Systems, Stability, And Statecraft

Few scholars have provided as much insight into the struggle of leaders, ideas, and policies as Paul W. Schroeder. Constantly challenging conventional views, and drawing upon a masterly command of the sources and literature, Schroeder provides new answers to old questions about international history and politics since the age of Napoleon. Were European international relations really driven by balance of power politics, or has that traditional view blinded us to an underlying normative consensus on the "rules of the game" that frequently contributed to cooperation among the leading states in the system? Are alliances primarily a means of the aggregation of power against stronger states, or do states often use alliances as instruments of influence or control over their allies? Was World War I contingent upon a confluence of independent processes that intersected in 1914, or was it the product of more deeply-rooted and interconnected structural forces that pushed inevitably toward war? What is the role of moral judgment in historical investigation? Raising new questions and offering provocative new interpretations, Schroeder encourages historians and political scientists alike to reconsider their long-standing beliefs about the evolution and dynamics of modern diplomacy.

"This invaluable collection of brilliant essays by the greatest international historian of our age is essential reading for all interested in international history and politics."—T.C.W. Blanning, University of Cambridge

"These essays are provocative, wonderfully written, drawing on an unrivalled storehouse of historical knowledge and bridging history and social science. Agree or disagree with them, they evoke unstinting admiration. Paul Schroeder is a national scholarly treasure."—Richard Ned Lebow, Dartmouth College

"Paul Schroeder is perhaps the most important living North American historian of European diplomacy. His reflections on theory and history are unsurpassed; they have challenged conventional interpretations and have provided original insights about the deeper forces underlying world politics. Scholars and students of history and political science will find in this collection the best of Schroeder's articles from the famous 'Galloping Gertie' thesis and his work on the balance of power and the Vienna Settlement to his most recent essay on counterfactuals and World War I. No college or personal library with a focus on international relations should be without it."—John Vasquez, Picker Chair in International Relations, Colgate University

“Paul Schroeder's scholarship provocatively re-examines the critical assumptions and decisions that have preserved peace or squandered it from the mid-eighteenth century to the present. Reading Schroeder's work is like playing chess against a grand master who, even as he inexorably moves to defeat you, patiently explains why each of your moves has been deficient. These essays will be fundamental for historians and theorists alike, and invaluable for teaching in the field.”—Charles S. Maier, Leverett Saltonstall Professor of History, Harvard University

Paul W. Schroeder is Professor Emeritus of History and Political Science at the University of Illinois.

David Wetzel lectures in late modern European history at the University of California, Berkeley.

Robert Jervis is Professor of Political Science, Columbia University.

Jack S. Levy is Professor of Political Science, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.