211. "War is Never Civilised";: Civilisation, Civil Society and the Kosovo War
- Author:
- Mikkel Vedby Rasmussen
- Publication Date:
- 04-2000
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- 'War is never civilised', Prime Minister Tony Blair declared on 10 June 1999 as the Serb government yielded to NATO's bombing campaign, 'but war can be necessary to uphold civilisation' he went on (Blair, 1999a). Thus 79 days of war were brought to an end by the assertion that war had secured for the future the principles on which the post-Cold War European order was founded. For that reason the Kosovo war provides an opportunity to study what the West believed to be the foundation of the new European order. It is important to use this opportunity because the reflexive confusion which followed the end of the Cold War has finally settled in a new order. To understand how the West constructs this order is a major concern for anyone how wants a glimpse of what the twenty-first century has to offer international relations.
- Topic:
- Security, Civil Society, and War
- Political Geography:
- Europe