The Remnants of War

Since around 1700, humanity has increasingly opposed violence of all kinds, Ohio State policy analyst Mueller argues. For him, war is an idea, like dueling or slavery, that over time became embedded in human behavior, and whose appeal and legitimacy are now in profound decline. Better quality of life, the expansion of democracy, the development of international norms and institutions, and increasingly destructive war-making technologies are major factors. Yet if war is declining, warfare persists in the form of domestic conflicts that Mueller regards as a consequence of inadequate governments. Mueller's solution proposes to improve states' policing efficiency and effectiveness, making them better able to deal with what he calls""residual warfare"" within their borders. The argument depends heavily on Mueller's thesis that the various forms of conflict prominent after the Cold War--terrorism, ethnic conflicts,""criminal war"" like that still racking the former Yugoslavia--are not wars but policing problems, requiring a constabulary approach. Mueller's case is essentially semantic, based on a limited definition of war as highly organized conflict between highly developed societies; many of the conflicts he describes as""thuggish remnants"" feature sophisticated weapons and make comprehensive use of modern electronics. And what happens if the newly effective states he postulates subsequently turn their attention outward? Mueller's case finally depends more on inference than evidence.