International Conflict in the Nuclear Age

Abstract

War can be seen as both a scourge of mankind and a central institution of international society. Despite the terrible suffering and loss of life which wars cause they also can be seen as performing important functions for the ordering and maintenance of international society. From a systemic perspective war has been used to maintain the balance of power. That is, to prevent one state or a group of states from disrupting the status quo, through the use of violence, other states have resorted to war. Moreover, the resort to war has enabled states to preserve the state system itself against attempts to replace an international society of independent states with a single world empire. Thirdly, states resort to war to support and uphold justice. Without effective means of the peaceful settlement of disputes, war has provided a mechanism through which states can implement a rule of law in their favour or redress unjust practices. In the absence of an international police force, states have reserved a monopoly on the use of force in order to preserve and maintain their interests. This double perspective (the horrors of war and its social role in international society) haunts us today in a world where the possibility of nuclear war threatens to spell the end of civilisation and at the same time wars are being fought in various parts of the globe. We live then with the ever present reality of war and the fear of total annihilation. Developments in industrialisation, military technology and mass society have changed the face of modern warfare.