Railways And International Politics Paths of Empire, 1848-1945

This new volume of essay by expert scholars shows how the construction and expansion of the railways represents a key factor in understanding international politics from 1848 to the end of the Second World War. While the effect of railways on economic development is self-evident, little attention has been paid to their impact on international relations. This is unfortunate, for in the period from 1848 to 1945 railways were an important element in the struggle between the Great Powers. These essays provide in-depth analyses of railways as objects of political and economic great power rivalries, and as tools of power projection, strategic mobilization and imperial defence. The book demonstrates the strategic significance of railways and reaches conclusions that can be applied to other technological innovations. This book will be of much interest to students of international history, military history and strategic studies. T.G. Otte is Lecturer in Diplomatic History at the University of East Anglia. He is the author (with G.R. Berridge and Maurice Keens-Soper) of Classics of Diplomatic Theory and the editor of Military Intervention: From Gunboat Diplomacy to Humanitarian Intervention, Personalities, War and Diplomacy . Keith Neilson is Professor of History at the Royal Military College of Canada where he teaches military and diplomatic history. He is the author of Strategy and Supply: The Anglo-Russian Alliance 1914-1917 and most recently Britain, Soviet Russia and the Collapse of the Versailles Settlement, 1919-1939 , as well as several edited collections.Neilson, Keith is the author of 'Railways And International Politics Paths of Empire, 1848-1945', published 2006 under ISBN 9780415349765 and ISBN 0415349761.