The MONOPOLY of VIOLENCE ~ James Sheehan.Why Europeans Hate Going to War in MELB

Description: Why Europeans Hate Going to WarJames Sheehan examines Europe's retreat from military solutions in Monopoly of Violence The story of war and peace in twentieth century Europe - and how the first came to be dominated by the second. Since 1945, the European states which had previously glamourised their military elites, and made going to war the highest expression of patriotism, have renounced violence as a way of settling their disputes. Violence has been eclipsed as a tool of statesmen. This astonishing reversal is the subject of James Sheehan's masterly book. It is also a timely reminder of the differences between Europe and America, at a time when the USA is asserting its right and duty to make war for ideological or self-interested ends. And how Europeans will live in this dangerous, violent world is a question that becomes ever more urgent as the chaos in the Middle East affects the stability of societies with open frontiers and liberal traditions. About the AuthorJames J. Sheehanserved as president of the American Historical Associationin 2005. He is Dickason Professor in the Humanities and Professor of History at Stamford University.Very Well researched read!ReviewsFinancial Review Jonathan Gibbs review ……… James Sheehan’s fascinating history is a narrative of war, and attitudes to war, across Europe – from the proud, nation-defining armies of 100 years ago, to the EU’s underfunded rapid-reaction force today. The first world war was supposed to end all wars – patently, it didn’t. It might be said of the second world war, however, that it ended conflict in Europe, Balkan atrocities aside. Of course, violence still occurs, but these days Europe follows America to the front line. As Sheehan says: “When was the last time a European city … named a street after a battle?’’ Europe, he argues, will never be a military superpower. His book is a chronicle of how the continent lost its taste for war. ABC review – Rob Minshull… More than one hundred million Europeans died in the 20th century because of war and the various revolutions which were the result or cause of conflict. Surely then the subtitle to this immense historical piece of work should be the exact opposite? Surely if the history of that continent through the ages tells us anything at all it is that Europeans enjoy going to war?In The Monopoly of Violence, Sheehan, a professor of History at Stanford University, makes two central arguments: firstly, that the obsolescence of war is not a global phenomenon but a European one and is the direct result of Europe's distinctive history in the 20th century; and, secondly, that the disappearance of war on the European mainland after 1945 created both a new international system within Europe as well as a new kind of European state.In a book which is more like a tour de force of 20th century history, an examination of death and destruction on a scale the like of which humanity has never experienced before, or is likely to witness again, Sheehan charts the origin of mass murder in war which first made its entry onto the world stage in 1914. Considering that on a single day in the very first month of the war, more than 90,000 men lost their lives, and countless more were wounded, then it is possible to begin to imagine the terror as well as the fear of war that was seared into the European consciousness. For the first time, distinctions between combatants and civilians were not only blurred but erased; ethnic and religious divisions were exploited and transformed into hatred, into arson, rape and murder. Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Jews in Russia, ethnic Germans in the east, Muslims in the Caucasus: all were murdered in their millions.After World War I, the mood of disenchantment, the spectre of revolution and the amazing willingness of the citizenry to endure meant, says Sheehan, one thing above all else: that peace was more than a desirable goal - it was an urgent necessity. 1930s appeasement, long since synonymous with weakness, is thus placed in its true historical setting. The alternative, after all, was fighting Hitler and there were few in Europe who were either ready or willing to do so.Of course, when the Second World War (or 'The Last European War' as Sheehan calls it) did finally begin, it wrought destruction and brought death on a scale even more terrifying than its predecessor. No longer did the concept of a civilian imply immunity from slaughter. No longer content with the killing fields of the Somme or Verdun, Europeans had to come to terms with Blitzkrieg, with the mass aerial bombardment and destruction of their cities and with a name and place which will forever symbolise man's inhumanity: Auschwitz.Post-war Europe then had to come to terms with a divided continent in which allegiances were themselves divided between two, competing superpowers. Each European nation drew its own conclusions from the war: the British, for example, who had never embraced the concept of a conscript army, soon abandoned both Empire and an over-sized military; Poland, on the other hand, swapped one dictatorial invader for another and was effectively (and disgracefully) abandoned by its Western allies. Almost all European powers, some more reluctantly than others, moved to grant independence to their colonies.More importantly, for the theme of this book at least, the Americans accepted a pivotal role in Europe which no longer drew a distinction between domestic and foreign policy objectives. The creation of a more unified, economically strong western Europe (with Germany again at its core) could not only defend itself against [possible] communist aggression, but would secure future continental cooperation - and peace. As Sheehan writes: "The emergence of a new Europe was not the cause of the long peace after 1945; peace was the new Europe's necessary precondition."In seeking a guarantee for this peace and a place under the American nuclear umbrella, Europe - like Australia - outsourced its defence to another nation. Although a strict American monopoly over nuclear forces was weakened with an independent nuclear force in both France and the UK, the commitment and presence of the United States to and on Europe was the main deterrent to a Soviet attack. This dependence for security on decisions made thousands of miles away was, as Sheehan argues, "a source of both stability and anxiety, a reason to hope for peace and to fear catastrophe." Ultimately, it was a catalyst behind the emergence of a separate European military formation, one that came into its own in Kosovo and has re-emerged most recently with the attacks on pro-Gaddafi forces in Libya.Perhaps one of the most telling moments in modern European history came in the terrible war in Bosnia: "In contrast to the years before 1914, the Balkans were not a conduit through which violence could move from the periphery to the centre of the European society of states." Unfortunately, Europe's response to the horrors on its doorstep was both fitful and ineffective, demonstrating, says Sheehan that Europeans were unable or unwilling to restore peace to the increasingly tormented peoples living along their southeastern frontier. Only the US could stop the killing.The key for Sheehan is that unlike the United States which has been formed through war - first against Britain and then North v South in its own civil war - the new Europe has emerged through the peaceful amalgamation of a set of what he calls "civilian states". European nations established and ordered through military power have given way to a collective based on shared economic and, to a lesser extent, cultural interests. Military values and institutions, argues Sheehan, have faded away so gradually that few people have noticed they are no longer there. Europeans have turned away from the use of naked military power to achieve political objectives whereas the Americans continue to accept that military might is not only realistic but essential for both global stability and economic wellbeing.Sheehan opens his book by pointing to the countless millions of Europeans who demonstrated against the war in Iraq as prima facie evidence for his argument. But the fundamental flaw at the heart of Sheehan's thesis is that the presence of European troops in places as far away as Afghanistan and Africa seems to show that the European capacity for war is undiminished. Politics in a united Europe may be more cumbersome than it is in the US, Europe may be more diverse in its political make-up than the US, it may even be experiencing prosperity and stability which is unprecedented in history, but its pivotal role in the continued making and remaking of our world means that European young men will continue to fight wars - although probably not against other European young men.Five stars … I really enjoyed this book. Growing up in the 90's the EU seemed permanent and secure. I had no idea about it's development, specifically the American and Russian influence. Or how the stability of the EU affected it's citizens attitude to war, civil rights and social responsibility. I really enjoyed the pace and the way every topic flowed into the next. 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