History and War

Abstract

In The Causes of War Michael Howard argued that ‘war has been throughout history a normal way of conducting disputes between political groups’ (Howard 1976, p. 7). His assumption about the normality of war is based on the continued occurrence of warfare and the acceptance of it as part of human political behaviour. His reference to politics and war follows on from Clausewitz, one of the best-known military theoreticians of the nexus between war and politics. Clausewitz’s thoughts may have been very influential in the past, but it is questionable whether his ideas are as valid today. The development of warfare over the last two centuries has brought about accumulated changes which make the notion of the normality of war increasingly unacceptable. Perceptions about warfare and the necessity of war have changed to such a degree that great wars tend to be considered now only as a last option after the failure of deterrence. So the question is whether the apparent greater reluctance to enter into a major conflagration in the last four decades requires a new approach to the study of wars during the last two centuries. If this is so then the factors which have brought about these developments will have to be analysed.