Inconclusive Wars: Is Clausewitz Still Relevant in these Global Times?

This article argues that the core Clausewitzean proposition that war tends to extremes no longer applies in contemporary wars. Instead an alternative proposition is put forward that war tends to be long lasting and inconclusive. The article adopts the Clausewitzean method and derives this proposition from the logic of a redefinition of war. It also shows the relevance of many of Clausewitz’s central tenets if reinterpreted. Thus contemporary...