No farewell to arms : strategic issues in International relations

The existence of adequate force is necessary for the maintenance of national self-confidence in an era of negotiations. The main argument in this study is based on the relevance, rationality and usefulness of force in the international relations.

States coexist in a condition of anarchy. In conducting their foreign policies, states find it convenient or necessary to use force or threaten to do so. This raises some pertinent questions: How can states most effectively employ military force in pursuit of national goals? What effects has the growth of national military power had on the ways in which force has been used? What kinds of military threats are productive or otherwise? Have nuclear weapons changed the nature of international relations or drastically altered the ways in which states can use military power? Does force both in its employment and the threat of its employment, affect the behaviour of states in international relations or drastically alter the ways in which states can use military power? Does force, both in its employment and the threat of its employment, affect the behaviour of states in international relations? These are some of the questions the present study attempts to answer.