The Clausewitz Myth: Or the Emperor’s New Clothes

Carl von Clausewitz (1780-1831) is, by far, the most celebrated military theorist, whose prestige has reached new heights. However, this book argues that his reputation has been largely inflated because of the notorious difficulties of understanding his major book, On War (1832). Many of Clausewitz’s interpreters, struggling to make sense of his work, have not admitted - to themselves no less than to their readers - that they did not quite figure it out. Hence, ’the emperor’s new clothes.’ Returning to the subject in an updated and expanded form after 35 years, the pre-eminent Clausewitz scholar Azar Gat lays out Clausewitz’s real intellectual background and the actual development of his ideas on war and its conduct. The Clausewitz Myth makes sense of Clausewitz’s train of thought, removing the veils of mystification and idolization surrounding it to clearly explain what the man and his work were about. Thereby the real Clausewitz, with both his significant contributions and his major errors in the field of military theory, replaces the current interpreters’ myth of ’Clausewitz the absolute.’ An indispensable book for every student of war, military theory, and strategy.

Azar Gat is Ezer Weitzman Professor of National Security in the School of Political Science, Government, and International Affairs at Tel Aviv University, which he twice chaired. Born in Israel (1959), he took his BA from Haifa University (1978), MA from Tel Aviv University (1983), and DPhil from the University of Oxford (1986). His War in Human Civilization (Oxford UP, 2006) was named one of the best books of the year by the Times Literary Supplement (TLS). In 2019 Professor Gat was awarded the EMET Prize in the fields of Political Science and Strategy. He lives in Tel Aviv, Israel.