What would be the Character of a New War?

Abstract

THE appearance of this volume is opportune in view of the Disarmament Conference now sitting; it contains eighteen articles contributed by eminent writers of various nations, mostly military men or university professors. Four of them are written by Frenchmen, three each by Englishmen and Germans, and others by men born in Sweden, Japan, Denmark, Switzerland, Russia, and Greece. Each author was evidently assigned a certain aspect of modern warfare, except that in some cases there are several articles on the same subject; but this plan has some disadvantages, because it was no one's duty to sum up the often conflicting conclusions, or to consider specially the fundamental nature of war. It was neglect of this last, or a too hasty generalisation from the character of a few recent conflicts, that led to the disillusions of the War of 1914-18 and of the subsequent conferences and conventions. Major Bratt and Lieut. Sergel, of Sweden, do, however, discuss the matter in the first four pages of their paper on aerial weapons and future war, and Prof. Politis (of Greece), in the final article dealing with the future of international law on warfare, says a few words on the subject.

What would be the Character of a New War?

Enquiry organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Pp. xviii + 411. (London: P. S. King and Son, Ltd., 1931.) 16s. net.