This is volume two of the massive account of the first world war by a bevy of historians-see my review of volume one.
This volume focuses on the state and politics. It examines how the state responded to the demands of a global war. It deals with issues such as:maintaining an acceptable living standard, while winning the war on the battlefields, how power was distributed, why fighting continued throughout Europe after 1918, and how the functions of the state altered during the war in order to cope with the demands of the war. In some cases, as in Russia, change was permanent, in others it was only temporary. In all states, however, society and the power of the state were different after 1918.
For example, the concentration of services and functions such as the provision of pensions and education in wartime continued. The state grew in size and its functions expanded greatly. These changes were transnational. Although armies returned to home base after the war, the state never fully demobilised. This volume also examines the interwar crisis of liberalism and why some states became dictatorships.
Of particular interest is the chapter by Jean-Jacques Becker which discusses the central question whether democracies or autocracies were better at waging war. It is of interest to note that in 1914 apart from Switzerland the only republics in Europe were France and Portugal. All other states were monarchies.
David Stevenson writes about diplomacy in the war, Richard Bessel about revolution, Alexander Watson about morale, Ian Brown about logistics, and Martin Ceadel about pacifism. Other chapters deal with topics like: neutrality, blockade and prisoners of war.
The whole is a very comprehensive study of the Great War from a political viewpoint.
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