Supreme Command: Soldiers, Statesmen and Leadership in Wartime - Softcover

This text examines leadership in wartime, or more precisely the tension between civil and military leadership. It uncovers the nature of strategy-making by looking at four great democratic war statesman and seeing how they dealt with the military leaders who served them. In doing so it reveals fundamental aspects of leadership and provides not merely an historical analysis but a study of issues that remain crucial today. By examining the cases of four of the greatest war statesman of the 20th century, it explores the problem of how people confront the greatest challenge that can befall them. Beginning with a discussion of civil-military relations from a theoretical point of view, it lays out the conventional beliefs about how politicians should deal with generals and the extent to which either can influence the outcome of war. From these it draws broader lessons for students of leadership generally.

Eliot Cohen is Professor and Director of Strategic Studies at Johns Hopkins University, a former Assistant Professor of Government at Harvard University and Visiting Associate Professor of Strategy at the U.S. Naval War College. He is the author of MILITARY MISFORTUNES (Random House).