Escalation of armed violence: the problem of the limit

Abstract

The article, based on the mimetic model of military activity, examines the problem of the escalation of armed violence. The author identifies constructive mimesis, aimed at strengthening of social solidarity, and destructive mimesis, which can be regarded as a source of escalation of violence. For the classic of military theory Carl von Clausewitz the limit of violence acts as a speculative figure, but in the nuclear era the absolute maximum of violence received clear empirical contours. The article analyzes escalation ladders, the final step of which is the large-scale war using nuclear weapons. It is concluded that modern reflection on armed violence includes the phenomenon of the limit as its integral horizon; it is further connected with the search for tools for self-limitation of military activity.