In Swiss exile, Lenin worked on the development of this book in 1916, which summarized the previous results of discussions and investigations regarding the latest developments in capitalism. Hundreds of articles and books in various languages served as his foundation. The result was the most concise elaboration to date not only of the economic causes of wars since World War I but also of the latest stage of capitalism as a whole - imperialism. Even more than a hundred years later, this work serves as a far-reaching analysis of the current relationship between financial capital, governments, and the (re)division of the world through economic and military means. Lenin relied on the preliminary work of Hilferding, Luxemburg, and Bucharin, and developed their thoughts on a Marxist basis to their ultimate conclusion.