War and Transition

•Elucidates the role of war in shaping the political subsystem, one of five ‘relatively autonomous’ subsystems that, according to Freeman, help to explain long cycles of prosperity and decline.•Outlines a systematic account of the key changes in the state that come about as a consequence of Clausewitzean war•Shows that contemporary war is very different from Clausewitzean war with different consequences.•Traces the way that the political subsystem is increasingly interconnected and regulated on a global scale with a potential to displace the role of war.