In this stimulating new text, renowned military historian Jeremy Black unpacks the concept of culture as a descriptive and analytical approach to the history of warfare. Black takes the reader through the limits and prospects of culture as a tool for analyzing war, while also demonstrating the necessity of maintaining the context of alternative analytical matrices, such as technology. Black sets out his unique approach to culture and warfare without making his paradigm into a straightjacket. He goes on to demonstrate the flexibility of his argument through a series of case studies which include the contexts of rationale (Gloire), strategy (early modern Britaisn), organizations (the modern West), and ideologies (the Cold War). These case studies drive home the point at the core of the book: culture is not a bumper sticker; it is a survival mechanism. Culture is not immutable; it is adaptable. Wide-ranging, international and always provocative, War and the Cultural Turn will be required reading for all students of military history and security studies.

Preface vii1. Introduction 12. The Culture of Gloire: The Royal Military 443. Strategic Culture: The Case of Britain, 1688-1815644. Organizational Cultures: Western Warfare, 1815-1950915. Strategic Culture: The Cold War 1106. From the Cold War into the Future 1217. Culture and Military Analysis 1418. Conclusions 153Notes 175Selected Further Reading 191