War and Peace

Proudhon's anarchist theory of international relations, a 19th-century vision of what might have been and could still be.

Of Proudhon's best books, War and Peace, is the least well known in the English-speaking world. This first English translation will open up both our understanding of Proudhon's mature works as well as a window on mid-nineteenth century international relations and the history of international thought. Sharkey's rich and faithful translation, and Prichard's scholarly introduction and annotations, bring this book to life for a new, (post)modern audience. This is still one of the only extended accounts of anarchist international theory in history and is one of the earliest in the history of socialist thought. Prichard's introduction describes both its specificity and the multiple lines of influence it had, on writers as diverse as Tolstoy, Sorel, French sociology more broadly, and post-1945 Anglo-American International Relations theory.