Beginning with the premise that we can study the period 1815-1918 as a century with unique characteristics, this course analyses the central roles played by warfare, peace-making and state violence by focussing on two case studies: the wars fought during ‘long’ 1860s (1857-1871) and the First World War (1914-1918). Students engage with topics and questions relating to the diplomacy, economic and politics of war and peace; the military and economic conduct and impact of war; the regulation of war in international law; the role played by neutrality and war avoidance, and the ideologies surrounding war, peace, internationalism and humanitarianism. The course also investigates the history of different kinds of warfare and state violence including inter-state warfare, civil wars, imperial wars, terrorism, massacres and genocide.