Valdai Club

The contemporary world has finally become multipolar. Until recently, there had been a period of 20-25 years when countries had brushed aside the use of military force as archaic conduct. However, the world cannot exist without a war, classic approaches to war are being revived.

One of the attendants of the session recalled Heinrich Theodor Böll’s book And Where Were You, Adam? which depicts the war in its most horrifying appearance, as a disease that cannot be justified. This raises one of the fundamental questions: Should the war follow rules?

In this respect, one of the attendants focused on the problem of the European Concert and Empires. The European Concert that introduced certain political balance in the 19-century Europe stemmed from the developments in the 18th century, which had later culminated in the Napoleonic Wars. One of the main reasons is the failure of the empires in Europe as a system. An empire needs to conquer vast territories akin to the expansion of Charlemagne. The two main obstacles on this path are Britain and Russia. The exhaustion accrued throughout wars and the conservatism created the European Concert. Yet, the system was not perfect, it was weakened by the Crimean War and the Wars of German Unification.

The Concert was a regional system with global consequences. Britain, as one of its constituents, paid the least for European security, it resolved to manipulations in Europe.

One of the main reasons causing the First World War, to one of the participants’ opinions, is the hunger for resources. Germany was mostly self-sufficient in 1815, but was more reliant on imports already in 1900. In the 1960s, the US survived, but it needed continental resources.

The main dilemma is the balance between expansionism of empires and the nationalism necessary to keep them together consolidated.

Speaking about war in the mentality, it was noted at the session that war was an integral part of the Russian mindset. For example, when it comes to choosing a hero, the most popular historical figure that comes to mind is Alexander Nevsky. Kliment Voroshilov, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, was quoted saying that Russian people were skillful warriors and loved war. Gennady Zyuganov, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, had similar insight: Russians are a nation of peaceful farmers who spent half of their lives on the battlefields.

The 19th century demonstrated that people used the cutting-edge advances in technology to wage a war against each other. War is an instrument of achieving one’s goals. One of the keys to preventing wars is culture, some experts believe. However, it is still not a guarantee to peace, as cultural wars suggest, remind others.

The war debates touched upon the topic of self-defense. It is often misused. Japan’s invasion of Manchuria is one of the examples of this abuse. Technologies make the definition of self-defense even more complicated. The solution to this problem, according to one of the experts, lies in pursuing a strategic dialogue between countries and cultivation of common security.

As for the key drivers of contemporary changes in interaction between superpowers, one of the experts outlined a shift in the distribution of power, differing views on the world order and the rise of nationalism. The latter makes attempts to adjust the current world order to the new reality yet more intricate. The rapid economic growth in China was called one of the main factors in the current shift, although transforming economy into a resource of power is not as easy as it used to.

One of the speakers said that the state made war and war made the state. Growth of states is in the growth of wars. The Napoleonic Wars were the first industrial-scale conflicts where the whole societies were mobilized. The speaker added, recalling monuments to war heroes in France, that people died for their comrades, for small ideas, not for their country.

In order to strengthen security and put an end to wars, countries should switch from the philosophy of building it against each other to the formation of common security. Multilateral processes should be more inclusive.

In conclusion, experts reached an agreement that the main subject of war was people themselves. Each war, they believe, is waged to make every individual’s life a little better.