warfare and its effects on modern politics

Economics Political Theory
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1

I am Oscar Barajas, a student at the International College at Folkuniversitetet in Linköping, Sweden

I am writing an essay about warfare and its effects on modern politics. The issue I am studying is how governments increase their popularity and people become more patriotic as a result of military attacks in their countries. One example that possibly proves this affirmation is how the American people after 9/11 became “more American” and thus disposed to back President George Bush in his military campaign to protect the United States and its allies from the threat of terrorism.

I would like to ask for your viewpoints about this matter. The queries I am looking to answer are:

  1. Do military attacks carried out by non-governmental forces foment patriotism in the affected country/region? If so, does this wave of patriotism benefit the national/regional government?

  2. Is warfare indispensable in the relation between people and state?

  3. What would happen without warfare? What repercussions would it bring to today’s socio-political structure?

2

Welcome to the forum, and I hope you choose to stay. I haven’t got much time right now, but I’ll mention that Mises addressed the relation of imperialism and the State in Liberalism (IIRC), which is available online. Someone correct me if I’m wrong. Hoppe also examines the nature of state warfare in his Democracy - the God that Failed.

3

For your first question you should consider looking into Robert Higgs’s Crisis and Leviathan.