The Case for Strategic Traditionalism: War, National Interest and Liberal Peacebuilding

Abstract

Liberal peacemaking and peacebuilding are an inherently dangerous enterprise, which should be approached with great caution. This was demonstrated by numerous problematic liberal peacebuilding efforts in the 1990s and 2000s, events that underlined the view that there has been no fundamental global change in attitudes toward the use of violence for the attainment of political ends. As a result, Western leaders are likely to be much less inclined to undertake large-scale and/or difficult peacebuilding missions in the future. This is a desirable trend, as peacebuilding efforts undertaken by democracies should be guided fundamentally by national interests rather than humanitarian goals.