War, Peace, and Power: Diplomatic History of Europe, 1500-2000

By: Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius

For much of the past five centuries, the history of the European continent has been a history of chaos, its civilization thrown into turmoil by ferocious wars or bitter religious conflicts - sometimes in combination - that have made and remade borders, created and eliminated entire nations, and left a legacy that is still influencing our world.

This 36-lecture series from an award-winning teacher and honored scholar pursues an explanation for this chaos that goes beyond the obvious ones of political ambition, religious intolerance, the pursuit of state power, or the fear of another state's aspirations. In pursuing that explanation, Professor Liulevicius offers everyone interested in the "why" of history a remarkable look into the evolution of the European continent and the modern state system. His provocative lectures allow us to peer through the revealing lens of statecraft to show us its impact on war, peace, and power and how that impact may well be felt in the future.

As you learn to examine key points on history's diplomatic timeline in the context of attempting to establish - successfully and not - a lasting idea of order in the European world, you'll begin to grasp the key Professor Liulevicius offers to understanding the dynamics of international politics. And you'll see how such key concepts as the balance of power, power itself, sovereignty, and "reason of state" - the raison d'état first enunciated by France's powerful Cardinal Richelieu - fit into those dynamics.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2007 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2007 The Great Courses

History for the Diplomat

If you could sum up War, Peace, and Power: Diplomatic History of Europe, 1500-2000 in three words, what would they be?

Outstanding European History

Who was your favorite character and why?

Otto von Bismarck

What about Professor Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius’s performance did you like?

He explains things very clearly, and makes the complex seem simple to understand.

Any additional comments?

This is one of the Great Courses by the Teaching Company. They're long, and involved. But if you really want to understand the subject, there are no better ways to learn.

Good

good stuff even though he plugs his other book several times during the lectures. Well worth the listen

expert presentation

Professor Liulevicius presented the material in a factual and egaging way, No bias or personal agenda vomes through. Refreshing

Greater level of detail than most

I always enjoy Dr. Liulevicius's presentations. What I especially enjoyed about this course was the greater level of detail of the interplay of personalities, motivations, and events in the context of the time in which they occurred versus how we see things in retrospect.

Pro Forma Orthodoxy

No mention of US dropping Atom Bomb on Japan as a shocking act of diplomacy. No Iran Contra. No objective discussion of Gulf war motivation and outcomes. Sad, manipulative, incompetent and incomplete. Ass kissing feel good BS.

Excellent Historical Review

I highly recommend this Great Course. It is incredible how Prol. Liulevicius covers such a large amount of history while keeping it coherent. He achieves this by structuring it around key themes, for example the balance of power. This course also sets the stage for the World Wars of the 20th century. And also, his review of the Cold War is very good. I never knew how much was going on during this period that I actually lived through. Anyone will come away with a much better understanding of this part of the world after listening to this course.

Great overview

Perfect 35,000-feet view of diplomatic history for the last 500 years. I recommend the course and the professor. The half-hour lectures were ideal length for me.

Great read

The course smoothly runs you true European history that lets you understand how European countries developed and how certain event influenced the future of the continent and the world.

high quality lectures

i recommend downloading the pdf course guidebook that comes with these audio lectures. the guidebook is a great bibliography reference, and the end of the lecture supplementary readings and questions to consider essentially makes this an accredited university course, as far as i’m concerned.

A real quick-paced ovrview

What did you love best about War, Peace, and Power: Diplomatic History of Europe, 1500-2000?

The back references to earlier occurring events and how those might have influenced more current decisions.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Interesting that this course covers roughly the time up to about 2007, the post-cold-war time.

What aspect of Professor Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius’s performance would you have changed?

In some cases I wished for more details, to make the "stories" more personal or connectable to.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

not much about "being moved" in a "course".

Any additional comments?

compared to "The Development of European Civilization". Covers a similar topic and time-span but with a completely different focus. I suggest having both. I have the feeling the this course here ("Diplomacy") should be heard first and the "Development" later -- for some reason I think that goes more into some interesting details and it's good to have the overview first.