Undergraduate reading list

Here is a list of books and articles which you might want to have a look at before you arrive. We've arranged them by degree subject, but feel free to read whatever interests you!  These are not compulsory in any way, the aim is to give you a sense of themes/topics you will be exploring during your studies and point you to some of the key texts. 

We’ve given links to books on Amazon and articles are all open access. Of course, when you arrive, you will have access to all of these, and more, in the King’s Library.

War Studies BA

Books:

• Geoffrey Blainey, The Causes of War (Free Press, 1973)

• Kenneth Waltz, Man, State and War (Columbia University Press, 2001)

• Laurence Freedman (ed), War (Oxford University Press, 1994)

• Russell Freedman, The War to End all Wars: World War I (Houghton Mifflin, 2013)

• Margaret MacMillan, War. How Conflict Shaped Us  (Random House, 2020)

• AJP Taylor, The Origins of the Second World War (Penguin Books; New Ed edition, 1991)

• Ernest Hemingway, Hemingway On War, (Vintage Classics, 4th edition, 2014) 

Articles:

• James D. Fearon, Rationalist Explanations for WarInternational Organization 49 (1995).

• Andrew Mack, Why Big Powers Lose Small Wars: The Politics of Asymmetric Conflict, World Politics (1975).

• Nikolas Gardner, Resurrecting the “Icon”: The Enduring Relevance of Clausewitz’s On War Strategic Studies Quarterly, Vol. 3, No. 1 (SPRING 2009), pp. 119-133 

• Phillip S. Meilinger,  Busting the Icon: Restoring Balance to the Influence of Clausewitz Strategic Studies Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Fall 2007), pp. 116-145

• Alexandre Debs, Nuno P. Monteiro,  Known Unknowns: Power Shifts, Uncertainty, and War International Organization, Vol. 68, No. 1 (Winter 2014), pp. 1-31

• Williamson Murray, THUCYDIDES: Theorist of War Naval War College Review, Vol. 66, No. 4 (Autumn 2013), pp. 30-46

International Relations BA

Books:

• John Mearsheimer, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (W. W. Norton & Company, 2001)

• Geoffrey Blainey, The Causes of War (Free Press, 1973)

• Valerie M. Hudson, et. al. Sex and World Peace (Columbia University Press 2014)

• Margaret MacMillan, Peacemakers: The Paris Peace Conference of 1919 and Its Attempt to End War (John Murray 2001)

• Susan Strange, States and Markets (Bloombury 1988)

• Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson, Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty (Currency Press 2013)

• Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith, The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics(PublicAffairs 2012)

Articles:

• Francis J. Gavin “Breaking Discipline and Closing Gaps? — The State Of International Relations Education,” War on the Rocks, February 5, 2015.

• James D. Fearon, “Rationalist Explanations for War” International Organization 49 (1995).

• Barbara F. Walter, “The Strategies of Terrorism,” International Security 31:1 (2006).

• Max Abrahms, “Why Terrorism Does Not Work,” International Security, Vol. 31, No. 2 (2006).

• Andrew Mack, “Why Big Powers Lose Small Wars: The Politics of Asymmetric Conflict,” World Politics (1975).

• Maria J. Stephan and Erica Chenoweth, “Why Civil Resistance Works The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict,” International Security, Vol. 33, No. 1 (2008).    

• Stephen G. Brooks and William C. Wohlforth “The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers in the Twenty-first Century: China's Rise and the Fate of America's Global Position,” International Security Vol. 40, No. 3 (Winter 2015)

• John J. Mearsheimer, “Bound to Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Liberal International Order,” International Security, Vol. 43, No. 4 (Spring 2019)