War: A Genealogy of Western Ideas and Practices

449 Pages·2022·5.318 MB·English

by  Beatrice Heuser

War

War
A Genealogy of Western Ideas and Practices
BEATRICE HEUSER
1
3
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InMemoryof
TomaszCreffield
16August1995–6February2020
Acknowledgements
ItiswithgreatgratitudethatIacknowledgethehelpIhavehadwiththisendeavour
from many sides. This includes the support of the American Smith Richardson
Foundation and the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Pennsylvania, USA. It
includesmycolleaguesatthe‘Laboratory of Excellence’(Labex) ‘Writinga new
HistoryofEurope’,runfromtheSorbonneinParis,mycolleaguesatSciencesPo’
ParisandReimsandtomycolleaguesattheUniversityParisIIAssaswithwhomI
hadmanyveryhelpfulexchangesonthisandrelatedsubjects.Myteachingatthe
SciencesPo’ParisasincumbentoftheVincentWrightChairatinthefirstsemester
of2018andafewclassesIgaveatAssashelpedmecrystallizesomeofmyconfused
thoughts,asdidmyteachinginthefollowingyearsattheUniversityofGlasgow.
FortheirsupportinsecuringmylinkstoSciencesPo’andParisIIPanthéon-Assas,
IamparticularlygratefultoProfessorsGuillaumePiketty,Jean-VincentHoleindre
andJulianFernandez.IalsoowethankstotheGermanHistoricalInstituteinParis
underThomasMaissenandStefanMartenswithitssplendidlibrary,itssupportfor
theLabexanditsgeneroushospitalitytowardsvisitingresearcherslikemyself.
Particular thanks are due to Professors Michael Whitby, Stephen Neff, David
Parrott,StigFo¨rsterandAlanForrest,andDrGeorgiosChatzeliswhokindlyre-
viewedtheentirescriptformeandspottedmanyanerror.Myadmirationfortheir
enormouseruditionknowsnobounds.
IalsoowethankstoProfessorsCianO’DriscollandJohnFrance,andDrRoel
Konijnendijkforvaluablethoughtsandcorrections,andtoDrEadoHecht,Profes-
sorYakovBen-Haim,DrAnne-MarieThévenot-Werner,HowardBody,Colonel
Andrew Dennis, Messrs Mark Waring and Paul Strong, Dr Olaf Theile, Wing
Commander Harold Simpson, Ronald Poetiray, Professor Robin Geiss, Mr Paul
Strong, Dr Asli Özcelik Olcay, Dr Saskia Millmann, Dr Joanna Wilson, Messrs
Theodoros Kaloudiotis and Pelayo Fernández Garc´ıa, and Professor Christian
Tamsforindividualcorrections,clarifications,suggestionsandexplanations.
IamprofoundlygratefultoDominicByattofOxfordUniversityPressforthe
patience with which he accepted requests for extensions and exceeding of word
limits.
Contents
Author’sNote xii
1 Introduction 1
Ideas 1
PracticeandtheLargerCulturalContext 3
TheGenealogyof‘Western’Ideas 4
SixSourcesofThinkingaboutWar 5
Judaeo-ChristianContradictionsandScholarship 6
HowIdeasInteractwithReality 8
TheoryandPractice 9
Sources 10
TerminologyandDefinitionofWar 12
EconomicWarfare—Sanctions,Blockades 13
TheStructureofThisBook 15
2 WarinEurope:AShortTypologicalSurvey 17
EnduringandRecurrentPatternsinWarfare 17
RaidsandMassacres 17
SiegeWarfare 21
Battle 23
ConductingBusiness:Epicheirein 25
Wars,Campaigns,Operations 26
ScaleandIntensity 27
MajorWarsversusSmallWars 27
SmallWarwithinMajorWar 29
FromSmallWartoIrregularWar 30
CriminalActivitiesand‘Hybrid’Warfare 31
MajorChangesinWarfare 34
ACavalryRevolution? 34
AsymmetricWars:EuropeansversusTurks 36
AnInfantryRevolution? 38
AGunpowder“Revolution”? 39
TheMythof‘Limited’CabinetWars 40
Non-Technology-DrivenRevolution:theFrenchWars,
1792–1815 42
TotalWar,GenocideandDemocide 44
TheNuclearRevolution 53
TotalWarvsConventionalWar 54
viii contents
ChangeandContinuity 56
‘New’Wars… 56
…andRecurrentPatterns 58
QuantitativeDifferences 60
Conclusions 64
3 Ethical,Political,andLegalConceptsofWar 67
EthicalConceptualizationofWar 67
WarasEvil 67
WarasCondonableasaLesserEvil 70
JihadandCrusade:WarCommandedbyGod 72
WarasGood:ATonicAgainstDecadenceandPromoterof
Progress 75
PoliticalConceptualizationsofWar 81
PolemosorStasis,PublicversusPrivateorCivilWar 81
FromSovereignPrincetoState-CentricDefinitionsofWar 91
LegalConceptualizationsofWar 106
FromInter-State‘War’to‘ArmedConflict’ 106
WarasaLegalConditionorstate 110
TheDeclarationofWar 112
JudiciumBelli:WarasanOrdeal,inLieuofaTrial 114
WarOutlawed 121
ThestateofArmedConflict 123
Conclusions 125
4 RootCausesandDriversofWar 127
FlawedNature 128
FlawedHumanNature 129
SpecificVices:Cupidity,Anger,Pride,andVanity 133
AmbitionsofPrinces 135
FlawedPolity 136
FlawedInter-PolitySystem 141
FlawedValuesandIdeologies 145
Conclusions 147
5 JustWarTraditions 150
TheJustWarCriteria 150
LegitimateAuthority 150
Self-Defence 153
MilitaryInterventionsinThird-PartyConflicts 155
PeaceastheOnlyLegitimateAimofaJustWar 164
UlcisciIniurias:RestorationorRetribution? 165
Pre-emptionandPrevention 168
PunishmentandCorrectionasPurposesofWar? 169
contents ix
LastResort,Proportionality,Moderation,andFairProspectof
Success 173
ExpansionismJustified;TheQuestforBooty 175
FreedomofTradeDefended 182
Insurgencies:JustWarAgainstone’sGovernment? 183
JustCausesonBothSides? 187
JustWarYieldstoRaisond’Etat andNationalInterest,
1796–1919 188
National-SocialismastheTotalNegationofJustWarPrinciples 190
TheRevivaloftheJustWarTradition,1919– 191
TheCostofUpholdingtheRules-BasedInternationalOrder 192
6 ProfessedReasonsforGoingtoWarandWarAims 194
WarManifestosandOtherProfessionsofWarAims 199
UniversalMonarchyversusLiberty 204
Sovereignty 206
BalanceofPower 208
TheQuestfor‘NaturalFrontiers’ 212
ColourfulPretexts 213
Conclusions 216
7 WhoFights? 218
TotalDefenceandRaidingParties 218
FarmingorMilitaryService? 219
ProfessionalSoldiersinAntiquity 222
TheWestAfterRome:BacktotheFuture 224
Limitanei,Akritai,Gazi,andGrenzer 224
AReturntoTotalDefenceandRaids 225
ProfessionalSoldierswereMercenaries 227
SpecialandIrregularForces 231
TheReality:MixedForces 232
TheReturnofMercenaries:PrivateMilitaryCompanies 234
TheIdealandMythoftheCitizen-Soldier 236
EuropeanArmiessince1815:betweenConscriptionand
All-VolunteerForces 241
TheFearoftheUndisciplinedMasses 247
Guerrilleros—Rebels,Brigands,Insurgents 252
ExcludedfromFighting 256
WomenintheArmedForces 258
Conclusions 261
8 WhoistheEnemy? 263
TheEnemyDefinedbyReligion/Nation/Race/Class 264
God’sFoes 264
Barbarians,Idolators,andHeretics 265