EBOOK
About
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.
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Reviews
"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 increas
Publishers Weekly
"It is refreshing to read a book about war that is optimistic and hopeful. John Mueller's The Remnants of War is both of these things. His thesis is that the idea of war is going the same way as the idea of slavery-it is becoming obsolete... He argues that there is evidence that good governance is spreading, and that policing wars are increasingly unattractive."
Claire Thomas, Journal of Peace Research
"If you could require the president to read one book, what would it be?"
New York Times Book Review