The Balance of Restraint: How Warfighting Norms Reshaped Global Conflict Patterns

Speaker: Katherine Irajpanah, Research Fellow, International Security Program

In this seminar, the speaker will present on how shifts in warfighting norms explain major changes in war duration. Using a novel compilation of data on international conflict, she finds evidence that wars between unequal adversaries increased in duration after 1918, whereas wars between similarly capable adversaries did not.

 This transformation in global conflict patterns relates to the evolving nature of the balance of battlefield restrain—that is, the relative discipline of military strategies. Changes in norms around warfighting, arising as an unintended consequence of great power behavior at the turn of the twentieth century, reshaped this balance by weakening nineteenth century norms against guerrilla warfare, while strengthening norms against state brutalism. Whereas the balance of battlefield restraint once favored stronger actors, it evolved to favor weaker ones. The imbalance of restraint favoring weaker actors enabled them to survive longer when facing more powerful adversaries, thus drawing out those wars.

Admittance is on a first come–first served basis.  Tea and Coffee Provided.