Realist analysis of war between “The Art of War” of Sun Tzu and “On War” of Carl von Clausewitz: Different cultural perspectives of war

摘要

Wars have been a global phenomenon that throughout the years have affected not only several civilizations, but the entire world. For this reason, the present paper examines the relevance of learning and investigating about war affairs through the eyes of two of the most well-known strategists of war, Sun Tzu and Carl von Clausewitz, by using the books they wrote centuries ago. In this sense, I will describe the content of each book to analyze war from both, an Eastern and a Western perspective. Then I will establish the similarities and differences between them taking into account factors that have influenced them to write their books, like the epoch, or the social reality that they were facing at that time. After that, I will make a deeper analysis by explaining the narrow convergence that their masterpieces have under the theory of realism, sustained by the principles and ideas of Kenneth Waltz and Hans Morgenthau, to show the relevance of their work in the field of international relations. Finally, I will conclude by stating the vital importance of studying war affairs through the different visions of the aforementioned authors even at the 21st century to understand in a better manner, the world in which we live today.