Violence and war were ubiquitous features of politics long before the emergence of the modern state system. Since the late 18th century major revolutions across the world have further challenged the idea of the state as a final arbiter of international order. This book discusses ten major thinkers who have questioned and re-shaped how we think about politics, violence and relations between states – Thucydides, Augustine, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Clausewitz, Lenin and Mao, and Schmitt. Conflict, war and revolution have generally been seen in political thought as problems to be managed by stable domestic political communities. In different ways, all the paradigmatic thinkers here acknowledge them instead as inevitable dimensions of human experience, manifested through different ways of acting politically – while yet offering radically distinct answers about how they can be handled. This book dramatically broadens the canon of political thought by considering perspectives on the international system that challenge its historical inevitability and triumph. Drawing on history, theology, and law as well as philosophy, Paul Kelly introduces thinkers who challenge fundamentally the ways in which we should think about the nature and scope of political institutions and agents. He illuminates many troubling contemporary conflicts with a critical and historical perspective. This book is primarily intended for second year and upwards undergraduate students in general political theory and international theory, and advanced international relations students. Each chapter is also downloadable on its own for use in courses considering only some of the ten theorists covered. Written in an accessible way Conflict, War and Revolution will also interest advanced general readers with interests in the historical thought underpinnings of political ideas and today’s international politics.

早在现代国家制度出现之前，暴力和战争就是政治中无处不在的特征。自18世纪末以来，世界各地的重大革命进一步挑战了国家作为国际秩序的最终仲裁者的想法。本书讨论了对我们如何思考政治、暴力和国家间关系提出质疑和重新塑造的十位主要思想家--修昔底德、奥古斯丁、马基雅弗利、霍布斯、洛克、卢梭、克劳塞维茨、列宁和毛泽东，以及施密特。在政治思想中，冲突、战争和革命通常被看作是需要由稳定的国内政治共同体来管理的问题。在这里，所有典型的思想家都以不同的方式承认它们是人类经验中不可避免的层面，通过不同的政治行为方式表现出来--同时又对如何处理它们提供了完全不同的答案。本书通过考虑挑战国际体系的历史必然性和胜利的观点，极大地拓宽了政治思想的典籍。保罗-凯利从历史、神学和法律以及哲学的角度出发，介绍了那些从根本上挑战我们对政治机构和代理人的性质和范围的思考方式的思想家。他以批判和历史的视角阐明了许多令人不安的当代冲突。本书主要面向一般政治理论和国际理论的二年级及以上的本科生，以及高级国际关系学生。每一章也可单独下载，用于只考虑所涉及的10位理论家中的一些人的课程。冲突、战争和革命》以通俗易懂的方式编写，也会引起对政治思想的历史基础和当今国际政治感兴趣的高级普通读者的兴趣。