Autore
Castelli, Emanuele

Titolo
Un modo occidentale di combattere? I costi della guerra e la ricerca della battaglia decisiva
Periodico
Rivista italiana di politiche pubbliche
Anno: 2013 - Fascicolo: 1 - Pagina iniziale: 29 - Pagina finale: 52

In his seminal 1989 book, Victor Davis Hanson contends that the roots of Westernmilitary thinking can be found in the warfare of the hoplites, and specifically in theway ancient Greeks waged war between the VII and the V century B.C. In this essay, Iwill show that only one of the features highlighted by Hanson, the search for a decisivebattle, is consistent with the historical record. Throughout more than 2.500years, Western armies have often tried to defeat their enemies with a quick and violentbattle, which could lead to an unambiguous and immediate result. But theWestern preference for decisive battle, I will argue, has mainly to do with materialcauses (such as the human, economic and financial costs of the war) rather than witha specific cultural legacy.



SICI: 1722-1137(2013)1<29:UMODCI>2.0.ZU;2-E
Testo completo: http://www.mulino.it/download/article/10.1483/73157
Testo completo alternativo: http://www.mulino.it/doi/10.1483/73157

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