War in Human Civilization

Azar Gat's "War in Human Civilization" presents an extensive argument that warfare and deadly intraspecific conflict are deeply rooted in human and animal evolutionary history, challenging the long-held Rousseauian notion of the "peaceful savage." The analysis begins by noting that intraspecific killing is widespread in the animal kingdom, paralleling human behavior, and then moves to refute the idea that war emerged only with agriculture or the state, citing high rates of deadly conflict among various hunter-gatherer societies. Furthermore, the text explores the evolutionary rationale for fighting, linking it to competition for resources and reproductive success, and traces the central role of armed force in the emergence and consolidation of states and complex societies, from early chiefdoms to vast Eurasian empires and modern nation-states. Finally, it addresses how the Industrial-Technological Age has dramatically escalated military power and discusses the unique challenges to peace posed by liberal democracies, global economics, and the proliferation of unconventional weapons.