The world’s great military powers seem to have forgotten how to end wars. The traditional Clausewitzian model of armed conflict sees war as an expression of political power. It’s about using military might to extract concessions from an opponent. But the enemy always gets a vote and defeat must always look more attractive than the continuation of fighting. Russia wants unconditional surrender from Ukraine. Trump and Hegseth want Iran to give up everything. Given those circumstances, why not keep fighting?
It wasn’t always this way.
On this episode of Angry Planet, Jason stops by with guest Sam Winter-Levy, a senior fellow studying technology and international affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Winter-Levy just co-authored an article in Foreign Affairs about how the myth of unconditional surrender has changed how the world fights wars for the worse.