In some very important respects, the institution of war
Answer one question. Essay should be 1,000 words. You must draw on and cite at least three academic sources (books or journal articles) and include a bibliography. Answer one of the following five questions: 1. ‘In some very important respects, the institution of war is clearly in decline. Certain standard, indeed classic, varieties of war—particularly major war, or wars among developed countries—have become so rare and unlikely that they could well be considered obsolescent, if not obsolete. Also in notable decline, it appears, are international war more generally, conventional civil war, colonial war, and ideological civil war’ (Mueller, 2004, p. 1). John Mueller and many others have argued that interstate war is becoming obsolete. Do you agree, and if so what are the political and economic factors that can most successfully explain this historically unprecedented phenomenon? 2. The State Department defines terrorism as ‘premeditated politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience’. In class we demonstrated the difficulty of developing a single unified and workable definition of terrorism. How is terrorism similar to or different from other forms of political violence, such as guerilla and conventional warfare? 3. Was the ‘War on Terror’ in Afghanistan and Iraq the correct response to the terrorist threat posed by Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations? 4. ‘Nuclear weapons, I began to believe, are the best peace-keeping weapons the world has ever known. In fact they are the only ones that have served the maintenance of peace rather than the making of war. We are in the midst of the longest peace among major powers that the modern world has known. We should count our nuclear blessings’ (Waltz, 2009, p. 501). As the above quote demonstrates, Kenneth Waltz believes that nuclear weapons have created a period of uniquely peaceful relations between the nations. In your view is Waltz correct, should we count our nuclear blessings, or is he vastly understating the risks generated by the spread of nuclear weapons? 5. ‘It is one of the tragic implications of the security dilemma that mutual fear of what initially may never have existed may subsequently bring about exactly that which is feared most’ (Herz, 1961, p. 591). The security dilemma suggests that states with no malign intentions towards each other can end up going to war out of uncertainty and fear. In your view is the security dilemma one of the most important causes of conflict between states? Please note the form of citation used within my questions, I include the author, year and page number of the work. I prefer a system that places the year in the citation (APA, Chicago), although I will not penalize anyone for using MLA. Useful Articles and Books 1. Mueller, John. (2004) The Remnants of War. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. Tertrais, B. (2012) The Demise of Ares: The End of War as We Know It. The Washington Quarterly 35(3): 7-22. 2. Hoffman, B. What is Terrorism? In: Art and Jervis, pp. 218-228. Hoffman, B. (2004) Inside Terrorism. New York: Colombia University Press. 3. Mearsheimer, J. J. (2011) Imperial by Design. The National Interest 111: 16-34. Mueller, J. and Stewart, M.G. (2011) The Terrorism Delusion: America’s Overwrought Response to September 11. International Security 37: 81-110. 4. Sagan, S. D. and Waltz, K. N. (2010) Is Nuclear Zero the Best Option? The National Interest 109: 88-96. Waltz, K. (1990). Nuclear Myths and Political Realities. American Political Science Review 84: 731– 46. 5. Collins, A. (2014) Escaping a Security Dilemma; Anarchy, Certainty and Embedded Norms. International Politics 51(5): 561-576. Tang, S. (2009). The Security Dilemma: A Conceptual Analysis. Security Studies 18: 587-623 Research Tips To find more articles have a look at the bibliography of the above articles. There you will find other important articles in the subject area which the author has engaged with. Essay Tips Demonstrate that you understanding the competing arguments and outline why the position you have taken is superior. Don’t just repeat the information that you learned from the literature and in class. Integrate their arguments into your own narrative and overriding argument. Please cite everything, data, quotes, and a particular author’s argument (especially when you mention their name). Don’t put anything in your bibliography that you have not cited!
