Book Launch - Coker on War: Strategic Thinking for Uncertain Times
We are delighted to announce the publication of Coker on War: Strategic Thinking for Uncertain Times.
It is a testament to Christopher Coker’s singular contribution to the study of war and international relations that such a stellar collection of scholars have come together to explore the continuing relevance of his work.
The volume - edited by Michael John Williams and Christopher Ankersen, and published by Hurst - brings together reflections on the work of Professor Christopher Coker, former Director of LSE IDEAS and one of Britain’s most distinctive thinkers on war, strategy and international affairs.
Through his twenty-seven books, Coker’s ideas - and his captivating writing - have influenced politicians, generals and generations of scholars. This volume is an extended examination of the man and his oeuvre, written by those who worked with him, learned from him, and were intellectually inspired by him.
In his Foreword, Professor Michael Cox reflects on his long association with Coker, from their years as colleagues in LSE’s Department of International Relations to Coker’s leadership of LSE IDEAS. Cox recalls Coker as a brilliant speaker, devoted teacher and deeply independent intellectual whose wide-ranging work consistently returned to the enduring questions posed by war, strategy and human nature.
What about Christopher’s legacy? My own feeling is that his reputation as a thinker – already high – can only rise as time passes.
From the collapse of the Soviet Union and the ‘end of history’ to the rise of Islamist terrorism and the onset of the ‘war on terror’, and now finally a return to great power politics - the last thirty years have been some of the most unsettled in a generation or two. Through it all, Professor Christopher Coker’s thinking on war and strategy was among the most original and insightful. His impact on the contemporary understanding of conflict cannot be overstated.