“The Powerlessness of Victory”: A Sign that the Nature of War is Changing?
The purpose of this article is to present and discuss a theory that emerged following the American interventions in Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003), according to which the relationship between military victory and the return to peace has been turned completely upside down. Supporters of the theory argue that in the past, a military victory automatically led defeated combatants to stand down, thereby ending hostilities. However, they note that this is no longer the case and suggest that the very nature of war has recently undergone a significant change. The authors we propose to study thus present an original contribution consistent with the “new wars” concept. We will critique their theory, highlighting its conceptual, historical, and theoretical shortfalls and demonstrating that military victory, as understood by these authors, has never automatically resulted in a return to peace.