Total war makes warfare useless as a political instrument

Evidence

War, for Clausewitz, was diplomacy by other means: it was what is used when ordinary negotiation or other modes of persuasion or coersion fail in the relations between states. Total war blunts the use of war as a political instrument, since the sufferings inflicted on both sides tend to far outweigh whatever diplomatic gains may be achieved through it. The possibility of nuclear war makes this obvious. — Anthony Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity, 156

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s thesis: Darlington’s appeasement politics showed ‘diplomacy by other means’ logic failing as total war dominated — the institutional world Stevens trusted was already obsolete. — connects to: Nuclear weapons make war as an instrument of policy obsolete — Anthony Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity, 186; Industrialized weaponry and fixed borders make territorial conquest obsolete — Anthony Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity, 392; Dominant weapons become obsolete when their intended fights never occur — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 456 (+1 more)

Related

• Nuclear weapons make war as an instrument of policy obsolete (similarity 0.90)
• Industrialized weaponry and fixed borders make territorial conquest obsolete (similarity 0.86)

Broader Connections

• Nuclear weapons make war as an instrument of policy obsolete #corroborates (0.90) — Anthony Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity, 186
• Dominant weapons become obsolete when their intended fights never occur #expands (0.60) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 456
• Industrialized weaponry and fixed borders make territorial conquest obsolete #corroborates (0.55) — Anthony Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity, 392