Quote Originally Posted by TWFanatic View Post
This is because too few people have read Machiavelli. The defeated must either be utterly annihilated so that they cannot return later seeking revenge, or treated so well that they do not desire revenge. Or so goes the theory.
Yes, I totally agree with this. Its almost impossible to win a modern war of conquest as a hostile civilian population is very difficult to deal with if you have a conscience. Ancient peoples were aware of this and reacted accordingly, Alexander the Great being a prime example.

The Roman decision to extend the franchise so thoroughly is also IMO the biggest reason their empire was so long lived in comparison to some others.

Also, and more controversially, I have learnt that moving towards democracy is effectively a type of coup, usually giving one person enormously more power than they had before at the expense of the established government of the state. In many many cases this change coincided with a form of warfare that focused on larger numbers of troops, effectively empowering them over the current elites. For example, the Greek hoplite revolution, followed by Iphikrates' reforms, also Athens's shift to a naval power, the Macedonian monarchy giving more authority to the smaller landowners who made up their phalanxes, the English longbowman, the Russian peasant etc etc.

Lastly I learnt that if the world was run solely by historians we would all live in a happier place, but that probably nothing would ever change and we would soon be toppled by a demagogue with an army of spontaneously combusting pet hamsters.