This book collects the key essays, together with updating notes and
commentary, of Professor John Mueller on war and the role of ideas
and opinions. Mueller has maintained that war (and peace) are, in
essence, merely ideas, and that war has waned as the notion that
'peace' is a decidedly good idea has gained currency. The first
part of the book extends this argument, noting that as ideas have
spread, war is losing out not only in the developed world, but now
in the developing one, and that even civil war is in marked
decline. It also assesses and critiques theories arguing that this
phenomenon is caused by the rising acceptance of democracy and/or
capitalism. The second part argues that the Cold War was at base a
clash of ideas that were seen to be threatening, not of arms
balances, domestic systems, geography, or international structure.
It also maintains that there has been a considerable tendency to
exaggerate security threats -- currently, in particular, the one
presented by international terrorism -- and to see them in
excessively military terms. The third section deals with the role
public opinion plays in foreign policy, and argues that many
earlier conclusions about opinion during the Korean and Vietnam
Wars, including especially ones concerning the importance of
casualties in determining popular support for war, apply to more
recent military ventures in the Persian Gulf, Bosnia, Iraq, and
Afghanistan. It also assesses the difficulties leaders and idea
entrepreneurs often encounter when they try to manage or manipulate
public opinion. This book will be of much interest to students of
international relations, security studies, foreign policy and
international history.
General
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