The Transformation of War?

Abstract

We are living in the longest period since the end of the Roman Empire with peace between the great powers (Schroeder 1985). Between 1989 and 1998 there were only seven interstate armed conflicts (Wallensteen and Sollenberg 1999) and only two of these were wars (defined as conflicts with more than 1,000 battle-deaths in a given year). Has interstate war become obsolete, even ‘subrationally unthinkable’ (Mueller 1989), as some liberal scholars claim? This chapter will argue that amongst a group of advanced liberal states, largely the old OECD members, international anarchy has been replaced by a coordinated security community characterized by peaceful exchange among its members. The community rests on consolidated democracy, common institutions, economic interdependence and transnational networks. But these open, liberal societies also remain very vulnerable, as indicated by the attack on the USA on 11 September 2001. So, the advanced states will continue to have a significant role in looking after the security of their citizens.