Transcending the ‘End of War’ Debate: Toward a Mechanism-Centered View on the ‘War on War'

Abstract

Has war become obsolete? Some argue that macro-historical social processes are leading war into obsolescence, while for others that pattern is explained by the fact that war is a lingering potential outcome of international politics. I argue that both answers reveal a fundamental problem with the debate about the ‘end of war’. The focus on securing predictions about the end of war keeps analyses trapped in either a teleological or nomothetical linearity and overshadows the varied set of contingent mechanisms that allow for non-violent outcomes to prevail in contentious political episodes. The ‘War on War’ could benefit from analyses that asses shifting configurations of mechanisms in power politics.

Transcending the ‘End of War’ Debate: Toward a Mechanism-Centered View on the ‘War on War'