A Total War of the Mind: The French Theory of la guerre révolutionnaire , 1954–1958
Year: 2017
Type: article
Abstract: French theorists of guerre révolutionnaire conceptualized contemporary conflict in the 1950s as a particular form of total war. Located in the idea of global subversive war which provided intellectual rationalization for the army’s experiences in colonial wars after 1945, the theorists argued that the collapse in the distinction between war and peace rendered war permanent and constant, so that France’s colonial wars were a symptom of a broader conflict necessitating the ideological mobilization of the French people. This article contends that much of the inspiration for these ideas can be found in intellectual developments preceding the Second World War.
Source: War in History
Author: Michael P.M. Finch
Institution: King's College London
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2506481679