Marital war, trade war, or war with weapons. Those who believe they can win the war with their power
will not negotiate. As long as all warring parties believe that a military solution can be reached, there
will be no negotiation. Negotiations will take place only when a military victory is no longer possible; fatigue sets in, or total surrender is still to be averted.
A peace negotiation will not bring peace in the first steps but will be able to avert further escalation.
Further reading regarding war:
Theoretical approaches: A “Clausewitzian” approach considers war as merely the continuation of politics through different means, where avoiding defeat equates to achieving complete victory over one’s opponent.1 However, as the war gets protracted, other dynamics contribute to the continuation of violence. The emergence of the ‘Just War’ theory represents the culmination of all ten escalation steps, supporting the notion that some wars are justifiable when their purpose is morally right.2; 3 Thus, once the conflict reaches stage 10, the motivations at play typically extend beyond the original aims to include issues of one’s very own identity. In parallel, wars can be prolonged by financial or military support from spoilers who have an interest in sustaining chaos and hindering de-escalation negotiations.4; 5 The combination of low trust, high stakes, and strong justifications, reinforced by the belief that there is no alternative, fuels the continuation of war despite its heavy costs and sometimes even undermines the original goals.6
References:
1 von Clausewitz, C. 1997. On War. Ware : Wordsworth Editions.
2 Walzer, M. 1977. Just and Unjust Wars. New York: Basic Books.
3 Orend, B. 2001. War and International Justice. Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier Press.
4 Kaldor, M. 2012. New and Old Wars: Organized Violence in a Global Era. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
5 Stedman, J. 1997. Problems in peace processes. International Security, 22(2): 5–53.
6 Sullivan, P. 2012. Who wins? Predicting strategic success and failure in armed conflict. New York: Oxford Academic.
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