How War Shaped Civilization and State Building

CrashCourse

In this thought-provoking episode of Crash Course World History, John Green challenges the conventional wisdom that war is exclusively destructive. While acknowledging the tragic human cost of conflict, the video explores the counter-intuitive historical theory that war—or the threat of it—was a primary driver in the development of civilization itself. Green argues that the need for defense against raids may have spurred humans to congregate in walled cities even before the full development of agriculture, suggesting that war might be the mother of invention for the state itself. The video covers a sweeping timeline, moving from ancient hunter-gatherer societies to the Zulu Kingdom, the Roman Empire, and the Gunpowder Revolution of the early modern era. Key themes include the relationship between military technology and state bureaucracy (how cannons required taxes), the shift from citizen militias to mercenaries, and the eventual transition from conquest-based economies to trade-based economies. The episode examines how the rising cost of war and the mutual benefits of global trade have, in modern times, made large-scale conflict between major powers less economically viable. For educators, this video is an excellent tool for teaching AP World History concepts regarding state formation and the consolidation of power. It models high-level historical thinking by asking students to consider complex causality and the unintended consequences of historical events. It is particularly useful for units on the rise of empires, the development of political systems, or discussions about the economic motivations behind historical conflicts versus modern diplomacy.