Clausewitz - War, Peace and Politics
Clausewitz - War, Peace and Politics
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Clausewitz: War,
Peace and Politics
Jordan Lindell
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Nov 26 2009 • 29915 views
This content was originally
written for an undergraduate
or Master's program. It is
published as part of our
mission to showcase peer-
leading papers written by
students during their studies.
This work can be used for
background reading and
research, but should not be
168an expert source or
citedSHas
A RE S
used in place of scholarly
articles/books.
War 168
is not an act of ‘blind
passion.’
SH A RE SIt is dominated by the
political object, and the value
of that object is what
‘determines the measure of
sacrifices by which it is to be
purchased. When the ‘…
required outlay becomes so
great that political object is no
longer equal in value, the
object must be given up, and
peace will be the result. In
wars where one side cannot
disarm the other side entirely,
the motives towards peace will
rise and fall on each side
depending on the probability
of future success. (Clausewitz
1940: Book I, Ch. II) While war
clearly provides the
foundations for Vom Kriege, it
is evident that politics holds
together the space between
war and politics.
Another weakness in
Clausewitz’s work can be seen
in his case for the
aforementioned three
imperatives of war (the
destruction of the armed
forces, occupying forces, and
the broken spirit of the
enemy). While Clausewitz
himself recognized that these
standards were next to
impossible to meet in reality,
both the possibility and the
impossibility have increased
exponentially with new
technology. First, though
Clausewitz could not have
foreseen the possibility of
nuclear weapons whilst living
168
in the 19th century, with the
SH A RE S
advent of nuclear bombs and
the like, his theory of absolute
war could, in fact become a
reality in the 21st century.
However, in the present day,
an opponent cannot feasibly
disarm a nuclear-armed
superpower, as mutually
assured destruction (MAD)
ensures this. (Bassford 2008)
Bibliography
Aron, R. Clausewitz:
Philosopher of War. (New York:
168
Taylor and Francis, 1983)
SH A RE S
Bassford, C. 2008. Clausewitz
and His Works [Online].
http://www.clausewitz.com/CWZHOME/CWZSUMM/CWORKHOL.htm
[Accessed 21 April 2009]
Bassford, C. Clausewitz in
English: The Reception of
Clausewitz in Britain and
America, 1815-1945. (New
York: Oxford University Press,
1994)
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SH A RE S