Language(s) of War: How the Language Shapes the Onset of Interstate War

• In Event: The Historical Roots of 20th Century Global Governance

Abstract

This paper asks how the ‘language of war’ shapes interactions between domestic constituencies, international actors, and elite decision-making, which ultimately lead to the onset of large-scale interstate wars. Whilst the problem of war’s multiple causes has long been a central concern for intellectuals, scholars, and political leaders alike, this paper explores the neglected role of language itself as an enabling factor which shapes the onset of war. The paper proposes an initial framework which interrogates the neglected relationship between the framing of contentious international issues and specific relationships within international society in terms of war and the actual recourse to war. It posits that such framings generate mechanisms which radicalise international diplomacy and evolve hardline policies and constituencies which increase the probability of war. This framework is tested and developed through an exploratory programme of comparative historical and political research, across two complementary case studies in modern global history (the periods leading up to the First World War (1914-18) and the Crimean War (1853-56)), to (i) understand how, and under what conditions, such contingent framings emerge, and (ii) examine how such framings may specifically shape the dynamic interplay between domestic constituencies, international interactions, and elite decision making which leads to interstate war. This research agenda aims to provide a better understanding of the mechanisms through which the language of war emerges as a contingent vocabulary for describing international issues and relationships, and how these shape the onset of war.

Author

• Thomas William Peak, Vilnius University