A Farewell to Wars

Hans Blix is a Swedish diplomat who has previously served as Foreign Minister of Sweden (1978–1979), Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (1981–1995) and Chairman of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission for Iraq (2000–2003). He has previously published Disarming Iraq (2004) and Why Nuclear Disarmament Matters (2008).

'Is the plague of war slowly becoming a thing of the past, despite its occasional outbreaks? Stepping back from the here and now, this colossal work shines a light on the big picture of all the armed conflicts that have taken place, but also the conflicts that have been settled without bloodshed, since the Second World War. A huge task, fulfilled successfully and argued plausibly, this is a ray of hope in these bleak times in international relations.' Beatrice Heuser, University of Glasgow

• 1. Introduction; 2. Interstate uses of force, tensions, and restraints by regions since World War II; 3. Interstate uses of force, tensions, and restraints during major phases of international relations since World War II; 4. Incentives to the interstate uses of force and restraints; 5. Historical evolution of norms and other means to restrain the use of force; 6. Overview of disincentives to and restraints on the interstate use of force; 7. Military strength to deter others from using force; 8. Nuclear and other non-conventional weapons and means as deterrents and threats; 9. Disarmament as restraint on the use of force; 10. Preventing the interstate use of force by preventing or solving conflicts: mediation, arbitration, fact-finding, diplomacy; 11. Restraints on the interstate use of force through legal norms; 12. UN Charter articles relating to the use of force; 13. The Security Council may use or authorize states or regional organizations to use force; 14. The right to individual and collective self-defence as an exception to Article 2:4; 15. Interventions triggered by factors unforeseen at the adoption of the Charter's ban on the interstate use of force; 16. Interventions seeking regime change, protection of people or punishment; 17. Findings regarding the role of norms to restrain the interstate use of force; 18. States are saying farewell to wars.