Anderson, Mattew. War and Society in Europe of the Old Regime

History
Name
Institution
Review of “War and Society in Europe of the old regime 1618 – 1789.1988.”
Introduction
The larger part of Europe history is based on the development of armies, which led to the establishment of societies in empires and kingdoms. However, how would a militarized nation maintain a normal society? Are military personnel different or the same as other members of society? In his book, Anderson tries to explain the complex nature between the development of military and society as presented in Europe of the old regime. The author draws from various scholarly works to provide a wide and a conclusive view of the development of the military and its impact on society from 1618 to 1789. Consequently, this paper seeks to provide a review of Anderson’s work.
Summary of the book
“War and Society in Europe of the Old Regime” offers a comprehensive description of all accounts that led to the rise of nationalism. It is the militarization process in Europe at that particular time that established norms and customs for the new age. However, the transformation of society and military in Anderson’s book is limited to the beginning of the Thirty Years War (1618) and the French Revolution (1789). In the period leading up to the French Revolution, the military structures in Europe went through a drastic change. Land, air, and navy armies increased in size; thus the state responsibility of paying and organizing them grew intensively. However, an increase in state control resulted in a rapid improvement in discipline among the military personnel.
Consequently, in Eastern and central Europe, the desire for military empowerment was critical in establishing a society that had clear but distinctive features. However, the development of military personnel and weapons had a limited if not a negative impact on the economic status of people in society. This is because although soldiers and other military personnel were a distinct group, they could not be detached from the general society. The process of nationalization was up and running with each war that was fought. This is because each war realized that every group needed to protect itself from any future occurrence of war.
Review
The book has a lively overview of war and society in ancient Europe due to the interesting statistics it provides on both society and military development. From a military point of view, it seems states in Europe viewed strong militaries as their only chance of survival and maintaining both development and order in society. Consequently, nations in Europe started employing men who were even given different clothing to differentiate them from other members of society. It seemed like the earlier European societies were molded upon the strength of their military. The various wars of the time affected the economies of these societies and nations in one way or the other.
Nations such as France and Britain went as far as accommodating their military personnel in barracks (Anderson, 1998). This helped to set up a precedent for virtually all the national armies around the globe. This phenomenon is present today as nations in Europe have their military pers...