Colonial Violence

European Empires and the Use of Force

Walter Dierk

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Western interventions today have much in common with the countless violent conflicts that have occurred on Europe's periphery since the conquest of the Americas. Like their predecessors, modern imperial wars are shaped by geography and terrain and by pronounced asymmetries of military organisation, resources, modes of warfare and cultures of violence. Today's imperial wars are essentially civil wars, in which Western powers are only one player among many. As ever, the Western military machine is incapable of resolving political strife through force, or of engaging opponents with no reason to offer conventional combat, who instead rely on guerrilla warfare and terrorism. And, as they always have, local populations pay the price for these shortcomings.

"Colonial Violence" offers, for the first time, a coherent explanation of the logic of violent hostilities within the context of European expansion. Walter's analysis reveals parallels between different empires and continuities spanning historical epochs. He concludes that recent Western military interventions, from Afghanistan to Mali, are not new wars, but stand in the 500-year-old tradition of transcultural violent conflict.

About the Author

Dierk Walter is a lecturer in Modern History at the Universities of Bern and Hamburg. His research focuses on the history of European expansion and Western military history since the eighteenth century. He has previously published a study on nineteenth-century Prussian military reform, and co-edited a number of volumes on military history and the Cold War.

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