clausewitz cost of war
Though Clausewitz says little explicitly on this topic, it underlies much of his thinking about his profession. Some wars have ambitious goals, evoke huge effort and cause great destruction; others seek only marginal advantage and show little ‘hostile spirit’. War, Clausewitz insists, must be ‘a serious means to a serious end’. They put prisoners to death and lay waste to cities for no reason other than vengeance or wanton cruelty. VIII) Whereas Michael Doyle, the author of Ways of War and Peace, criticizes Clausewitz for ruminating that war is a constant and never gives an explanation as to how to eliminate war entirely, it would seem that Clausewitz never set out to eradicate war but to theorize on how to be successful in war. In Rebooting Clausewitz: On War in the 21 st Century, Christopher J. Coker aims to show how Carl von Clausewitz’s 1832 classic On War still contains important insights for our contemporary moment. [377] Both take up war as a means to differing ends. What interested Clausewitz most about these wars were the tactics employed, notably the use of mobile forces, often lightly-armed, to harass enemy soldiers, attack weak points or gather intelligence. Dr. Sait Yılmaz. At tactical, strategic (campaign) and national levels each side responds to the actions of the other, evaluating its options in the light of possible reactions. The 1976/84 Howard/Paret version is the standard translation today; for the most accurate text one should always consult the 1943 Jolles translation. The most likely causes of a nuclear war became accident or misunderstanding rather than deliberate decisions. Even a decisive victory may turn out to be a passing triumph while defeat as may prove ‘a transitory evil’ for the defeated. These changes tied in with Clausewitz’s view that war reflects the ‘social conditions’ within states and the relations between them. stream [69] It is therefore ‘only a branch of political activity [and] in no sense autonomous’. 1 (February 2010), pp. Soon after, missiles were developed that could deliver nuclear weapons to any part of the globe in a matter of hours or even minutes. It is thus ‘a wholly isolated act, occurring suddenly and not produced by previous events in the political world’. But he would certainly have found strange national strategies aimed above all at deterring war rather than actually preparing to fight one. [xi] Communities embody this underlying truth and fight, not for ‘political’ reasons but instinctively for the sake of the tribe or society, for religion or ideology, or simply as a way of life. In this context Clausewitz sees the function of war as that of settling disputes: war is thus a ‘clash between major interests, which is resolved by bloodshed (sich blutig löst)’. The reason of war is the calculation of means to achieve ends and the reckoning of costs and benefits. [580], In strict terms, however, the idea of ‘pure war’ means stripping war of all its real-world characteristics – soldiers and armies, generals and statesmen, the social and political context. Real war is a complex of interactions, multi-layered and often unpredictable. Clausewitz clearly intended to become more prescriptive at the end of his masterpiece; even unfinished, it’s obvious that his descriptions of the nature and conduct of war would culminate in explicit although characteristically qualified prescriptions for the planning and conduct of war, beginning with Book 8, “War Plans”. Since war cannot be eradicated from human affairs, a state must be prepared to fight in order to defend its interests, its honour and even its survival. Primitive warriors, Clausewitz believed, knew little of limitation or restraint. Werner Hahlweg, Dümmler, Bonn, 1980. [260] If there is some constraint on war it is through reason which may be found in the political element. First, war entails ‘a clash between major interests.’ [149] For Clausewitz it is the interests of states that constitute the ‘serious end’. While Clausewitz recognises that hatred can exist between peoples, critics argue that war originates from deeper factors that undermine the notion of war as simply a rational instrument of policy. Ferocity of will and improvisation often allow such warriors to triumph with little planning or control. Fighting, Martin van Creveld suggests, ‘can be a source of joy, perhaps even the greatest joy of all’. Any self-respecting state will seek ways to restore its honour and independence. THE JOURNAL OF STRATEGIC STUDIES 3 Some of this thinking may have been comprehensible to Clausewitz. [149, emphasis added] How is this to be done? That is to say, war is one means of political intercourse, characterized by military force, to accomplish political ends. 289-90 [76] Lacking political purpose and rational control, their ‘wars’ are driven by sheer hatred. Journal of Strategic Studies, vol. In admiration of Napoleon’s military triumphs, he remarks that ‘with our own eyes we have seen warfare achieve this state of absolute perfection’. [77]. The ability of non-state actors to take up arms has grown enormously in recent times. There were many factors at work: greater internal order, more efficient administration that facilitated collection of taxes and conscription of citizens, growing international trade, and technological advances, both civilian and military. This sort of fighting displays characteristics that are the antithesis of what Clausewitz saw as modern war and can be labelled ‘anti-modern’ (rather than pre-modern or post-modern). THE Germans interpret their new national colours—black, red, and white—by the saying, \"Durch Nacht und Blut zur licht.\" (\"Through night and blood to light\"), and no work yet written conveys to the thinker a clearer conception of all that the red streak in their flag stands for than this deep and philosophical analysis of \"War\" by Clausewitz. [81] In its simplest expression: ‘war is nothing but a continuation of policy with other means’. Third, the complexity of actual war is evident in what Clausewitz calls a ‘remarkable trinity’ [wunderliche Dreifaltigkeit] of passion, reason and chance that underlie war (and, one might add, all serious human activity). The resort to war promised to be more rational and conduct of hostilities more controllable. In all probability a nuclear war would see no combat among soldiers, no campaigns, no political direction of a sustained national effort. [i] Citations in English are from On War, translated and edited by Michael Howard and Peter Paret, Princeton UP, 1976. It is also an activity that can be to some extent ‘civilised’ by reason and by its separation from civilian life. The fate of Spain, Clausewitz believed, was determined primarily by the armies of England and France. Now ‘the whole thing looks quite different’ [78] – and far more complex. [606-7] But whatever their goals they should constantly seek to understand what war can and cannot achieve and the costs and risks involved. 1 0 obj Clausewitz also seeks to define war by its function in human affairs: ‘what does it do?’ rather than ‘what is it?’. Antifragile Adversaries: How to Defeat Them? Has it adapted to the atomic age when resort to nuclear weapons could well result in mutual annihilation? People’s war for Clausewitz was above all a means of strengthening a nation’s fighting forces both materially and psychologically rather than a free-standing form of warfare. wealths, potential costs and spoils of war, and the size of the biases. [86] There are two requirements. }�J�]����7���)n�D�.�Ң��K�T�H4LB������Ňm���dH�GW0�(�*MS\��頥n�N��W����147����7�`%�(�������,�s�y����o�|�"1�V�eW�����?υnJ%c6*T����a�t�*�Ć5 ��Z8��1��@Ǧ뒨_�uo�±�n�u�@G�l��2 xlyq4d!DY����8�1!��,�O����}�:�x����DѴ�j�,�5.X�x��2m?W;��Y�J�)b}lٴiP�MS����纫*巁�S�2nTY+d���u#R�����]���v�f;8z�o ���E3{��`�n��zs;o`������j�4fv��w�;���;��Ԑ%!������*ٞ5�G�3 �8[�ߪ>3�n� Today these might be termed ‘special operations’ but were then known as guerrilla or ‘small war’. He mostly refers to absoluter Krieg which is best translated as ‘pure war’, following Kant’s practice of identifying the unadulterated essence of a concept or activity. Clausewitz stresses that this is a ‘logical fantasy’ and can never occur in the real world. endobj Others, however, claimed that Clausewitz’s admonitions about war as an instrument of policy were now all the more important: do not take the first step without considering the last, means must be matched to ends, wars have a natural tendency to escalate, and political control must be maintained at all times. From Strategy to Military Capability: the Austrian Example, Clausewitz's Definition of War and its Limits, Clausewitz's Supreme Question: Reconsidering his Legacy, The Mirage of Post-Clausewitzianism: Understanding War and Politics on the Frontier of Clausewitzian Thought, The Occam's Razor of Strategic Theory: The Relevance of Clausewitz for Political Conduct, Strategy, War, and the Relevance of Carl von Clausewitz, Clausewitz’s Definition of War and its Limits. The Prussian general, had written this in-between the period 1818/1830, during his administrative role at the Berlin war college. Modern war appeared to have burst its natural bounds – it was now ‘hyper-modern’. endobj This is the 1873 translation of Carl von Clausewitz's 1812 "Die wichtigsten Grundsätze des Kriegfuhrens zur Ergänzung meines Unterrichts bei Sr. Koniglichen Hoheit dem Kronprinzen," made by Colonel James John Graham, originally published as an appendix to Graham's translation of Carl von Clausewitz, On War (London: N. Trübner, 1873), in German Vom Kriege (Berlin: Dümmlers Verlag, 1832). In his rationalistic model, the prince (or other governing elite) begins with a set of objectives and chooses the most cost-effective way of accomplishing them. Nicolo Machiavelli. Second, ‘serious means’ refers to fighting by soldiers as part of a state’s military organisation. Clausewitz’s wisdom seems to be obsolete. (Clausewitz 1940: Book I, Ch. Significantly, the term ‘armed conflict’ replaced ‘war’ with its state-oriented connotation. Individuals and groups other than states do not normally wage war. The goals of warring states, moreover, will be influenced by the course of the war. Moreover, even an unspoken threat of nuclear attack might panic an enemy into striking first. One line of attack is that Clausewitz’s idea of war ignores culture and therefore ‘does not fully encompass the causes of war’. We win battles but not wars, and we win them at great political, material, and moral cost. In his principal work, On War, he seeks to systematically develop a philosophy for the conduct of war.Sadly, Clausewitz died prior to finishing the work, but his wife published his unfinished manuscripts in 1832. Like others before him, Clausewitz recognised that standing armies could also employ some of these tactics. Carl von Clausewitz produced what is widely recognised as the greatest book on war. [76]. Clausewitz’s Theory and Hybrid Warfare Associate Professor. Second, in real war interaction occurs between combatants over a period of time. Kunden, die diesen Artikel gekauft haben, kauften auch. almost universally called a 'limited war,' simply because it was easy and cost so little. [78-9]. Hugh Smith is a Visiting Fellow in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of New South Wales at the Australian Defence Force Academy. • As of 10 Jul 1827, Clausewitz regarded the first six books "merely as a rather formless mass that must be thoroughly reworked once more." Napoleon had done this with spectacular success and Clausewitz, deeply impressed, urged Prussia to follow suit after its humiliation by the French army at Jena in 1806. The idea that strategy might deliberately abandon rationality with threats that ‘leave something to chance’ (in Thomas Schelling’s formulation) would also have been troubling. At the other end of the spectrum from the harsh reality of combat is the idea of pure war. European states ceased to feel threatened by barbarians outside the gates while still fearing war among themselves. Michael Howard and Peter Paret (Princeton, N.J., 1976), based on the 1st ed. Fighting among groups other than states, of course, existed long before the modern era, has continued to exist, and will no doubt persist into the future. But after 1945 pressure grew to apply the term ‘war’ to a wider range of conflicts, and this became most evident with regard to the laws of war.[ix]. endobj Aron has useful things to say, and his original work (Penser la Guerre, Clausewitz) received many accolades from his fellow 20th century analysts of life, politics, and war. In Book I of On War Clausewitz tackles the problem of definition in two distinct ways. Is it relevant to the many internal conflicts that have occurred since 1945? See Paret, Clausewitz and the State, p. 162. [77] Alternatively, ambitions may dwindle and costs mount up so that war becomes ‘nothing more than armed neutrality’ [218]. [v] Clausewitz was familiar with Kant’s ideas. Escalation may occur since war contains an inherent tendency for each side to increase its effort in order to outdo the other, making for a rise to ‘extremes’. The term ‘Cold War’ came to define a situation in which threats – explicit and implicit – were managed among the nuclear powers. 4,4 von 5 Sternen 203. Duty, obedience and self-sacrifice become sacred values and are reinforced by ceremony, uniforms, flags and medals. [76]. 2 0 obj Fighting cannot be recognised as war when fighters rely on tactics and choose targets that are essentially civilian rather than military; when their attacks are small-scale and not part of a wider campaign; when they lack central control; and when there is no prospect of success. So how does Clausewitz define war? A straitjacket of means and ends may be imposed on war, but this does not capture its true nature. xi , 411, The New Unequal Dialogue: Professional Military Advice in the Age of AI-Analytics, Improvident Strategy: When Process Supplants Policy in Targeted Killing. For Clausewitz this is war free of all constraint and limitation. Also critical for security are alliances and the balance of (largely military) power among states, topics to which Clausewitz devotes considerable attention. This is Clausewitz’s best-known depiction of the function of war though earlier thinkers also speculated along these lines. His eloquent inquiry into war appears to have little to say about today’s modes of conflict and future wars. What are the boundaries of that definition? Making war bereft of strategy has become an American addiction over the last 50 years. More complex is the use and threat of force such that an opponent will sooner or later choose acquiescence rather than resistance. Clausewitz was not interested in legalistic definitions of war and would perhaps approve of the adoption of more or less objective measures to determine whether ‘war’ existed. Carl von Clausewitz On War. [607] By contrast, wars between ‘civilized nations’ are ‘far less cruel and destructive than wars between savages’. Taschenbuch. This refers both to ‘policy’ – the aims and ambitions of individual states – and to ‘politics’ – the workings of human interaction on a large scale. What has happened since 1945 is that the idea of ‘great interests’ has been broadened. Wrestling may be ‘fighting of a kind’ [127] but it is not war. He is the author of On Clausewitz, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2005. In 1977 Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions extended their coverage to hostilities directed against colonial rule, foreign occupation and racist regimes (as in South Africa). Consider the more modern versions and other relevant books shown below. Human beings fight and kill one another in many ways and for many reasons without this necessarily constituting ‘war’. Had he grown up in the Valley, and not a 19th Century Prussia, Clausewitz would have probably made a karate analogy in lieu of wrestling. He did not anticipate that such groups might drive out an occupying power or defeat regular forces by relying on nationalism and/or ideology simply by sustained use of irregular methods of war. [vii] War occurs when states seek goals that clash with the goals of other states and choose to pursue them through violent means. Expanding diplomatic contacts meant that states knew more about the outside world and might better judge their true interests. Clausewitz, however, emphasizes the definitive importance of “moral factors,” or what we think of as morale. It would resemble Clausewitz’s imaginary ‘pure war’: ‘an isolated act’, taking the form of ‘a single short blow’ with weapons already in existence, and proving ‘decisive’ with a ‘final’ result. [80] Prussia’s ‘catastrophe’ at Jena in 1806 is clearly in Clausewitz’s mind here. [75] [i] ‘There is only one means in war: combat’ (das Gefecht). [x] Gat, War in Human Civilization, pp. <>>> Force can be used against any targets and for any cause. [ii] See Donald Stoker, Clausewitz: His Life and Work, OUP 2014, Appendix ‘Clausewitz’s Battles’, pp. Clearly, war could embrace combatants other than uniformed regulars. For Clausewitz, “war is not merely a political act but a real political instrument, a continuation of political intercourse, a carrying out of the same by other means,” (On War (1943), pp. War cannot guarantee solutions, only that things will be different. Of these six terms, the first three represent ideas from Clausewitz's mature theory. [viii] Azar Gat, War in Human Civilization, Oxford UP, 2008, pp. But Clausewitz recognised that war could be more complex. [149] It is inherent in the system of states that emerged from around 1500. [ii] Much of Clausewitz’s classic On War also refers to both war and warfare in the context of his time, thus forming in effect a theory of early 19th Century warfare distinct from the General Theory. … The natural force of violence, hatred, and enmity becomes embodied in the state because the state, following Hegel, is simply an embodied reflection of its people. 6,60 € The Prince. <> War is not a collision between inanimate objects but ‘always the collision of two living forces’. We also study such ... paradox, –rst discussed by Carl von Clausewitz (1832), which refers to situations in which one small or weak country doesn™t concede or is the initiator of con⁄ict, even though it expects losses from a war. The simultaneous risk of death and prospect of glory make it ‘one of the most exciting, most stimulating’ of human activities. HISTORY-THEORY Clausewitz and the Great War. Carl Philipp Gottfried (or Gottlieb) von Clausewitz (/ ˈ k l aʊ z ə v ɪ t s /; 1 June 1780 – 16 November 1831) was a Prussian general and military theorist who stressed the "moral" (meaning, in modern terms, psychological) and political aspects of war.His most notable work, Vom Kriege transl. Weapons are more accessible, more varied and more destructive. ... cost of war to the USA. 142-3 For Clausewitz, as we have seen, war requires the clash of ‘great interests’. One is bottom-up, focusing on the very practical business of war, namely fighting and killing; the other is top-down and begins by imagining war in its most abstract form. 3 (Fall 2016) advantage. Carl von Clausewitz was born on 1 June 1780 in Burg, near Madgeburg. A government can set wise or foolish objectives – these are matters for policy. 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