Arranged around five key themes - Fiscal and Military Capacity, Military Spending, Economic Effects of War, War and Institutions, and Business and War - this handbook features contributions from an international range of scholars, on varying methodological approaches, theories, and geographical arenas. Encompassing a range of disciplinary approaches, the main focus is on how economic history can provide insights into the societal impact of war, addressing issues such as how war preparations and arms races affect government spending, the direct economic effects of war, and how societies adjust to the economic realities of rearmament and recovery.