The Remnants of War
- ISBN-10
- 0801459869
- ISBN-13
- 9780801459863
- Category
- Political Science
- Pages
- 272
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2013-01-14
- Publisher
- Cornell University Press
- Author
- John Mueller
Description
"War . . . is merely an idea, an institution, like dueling or slavery, that has been grafted onto human existence. It is not a trick of fate, a thunderbolt from hell, a natural calamity, or a desperate plot contrivance dreamed up by some sadistic puppeteer on high. And it seems to me that the institution is in pronounced decline, abandoned as attitudes toward it have changed, roughly following the pattern by which the ancient and formidable institution of slavery became discredited and then mostly obsolete."-from the Introduction War is one of the great themes of human history and now, John Mueller believes, it is clearly declining. Developed nations have generally abandoned it as a way for conducting their relations with other countries, and most current warfare (though not all) is opportunistic predation waged by packs-often remarkably small ones-of criminals and bullies. Thus, argues Mueller, war has been substantially reduced to its remnants-or dregs-and thugs are the residual combatants. Mueller is sensitive to the policy implications of this view. When developed states commit disciplined troops to peacekeeping, the result is usually a rapid cessation of murderous disorder. The Remnants of War thus reinvigorates our sense of the moral responsibility bound up in peacekeeping. In Mueller's view, capable domestic policing and military forces can also be effective in reestablishing civic order, and the building of competent governments is key to eliminating most of what remains of warfare.
Get the book
Other editions
Similar books
-
Aftermath: The Remnants of War: From Landmines to Chemical Warfare--The Devastating Effects of Modern Combat
By Donovan WebsterIn riveting and revelatory detail, Aftermath documents the ways in which wars have transformed the terrain of the battlefield into landscapes of memory and enduring terror: in France, where millions of acres of farmland are cordoned off to ...
-
Aftermath: The Remnants of War
By Donovan WebsterIn riveting and revelatory detail, Aftermath documents the ways in which wars have transformed the terrain of the battlefield into landscapes of enduring terror and memory: in France, where millions of acres of farmland are cordoned off to ...
-
Gears Of War: Jacinto's Remnant
By Karen TravissBased on the blockbuster Xbox game, this is the stunning story of the men and women who stood between a planet and total destruction - and now have to face the consequences of their actions.
-
War Remnants of the Khmer Rouge
By David Porter Chandler, Maureen Lambray, Margo PickenAlong with haunting landscapes, the stark, powerful portraits in War Remnants of the Khmer Rouge portray those who suffered greatly under the genocide of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.
-
Explosive Remnants of War: Mitigating the Environmental Effects
By Stockholm International Peace Research InstituteExplosive Remnants of War: Mitigating the Environmental Effects
-
A Better War: The Unexamined Victories and Final Tragedy of America's Last Years in Vietnam
By Lewis SorleyMeticulously researched and movingly told, A Better War sheds new light on the Vietnam War.
-
The Last Operation (The Remnants of War Series, Book 1)
By Patrick AstreA US Special Forces operator and veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Richard Daniels is weary of serving government officials.
-
War Junk: Munitions Disposal and Postwar Reconstruction in Canada
By Alex Souchen344, file 196-46-10, “Dismantling and Disposal of Surplus National Defence Buildings,” A. Ross to R.A.C. Henry, 10 August 1945, 1–2; “No Relief in Rural Areas Seen for Housing Problem,” Hamilton Spectator, 2 November 1945, 5; ...
-
The War That Came Home
By Andrea CarlileTake the journey and discover your own feelings of hope and strength. This story of Andrea and Wes Carlile will be featured in the documentary When War Comes Home, by the Emmy award winning producer and director, Michael W. King.
-
Only the Dead: The Persistence of War in the Modern Age
By Bear F. BraumoellerThe idea that war is going out of style has become the conventional wisdom in recent years. But in Only the Dead, award-winning author Bear Braumoeller demonstrates that it shouldn't have.