The Lost Art Of Declaring War

About the Book

Historically, it has been assumed that war is violence and declarations of war simply public announcements that initiate combat. Brien Hallett denies both assumptions and reveals that war is policy, not violence.

The Lost Art of Declaring War analyzes the crucial differences between combat and war. Hallett shows that the power to "declare" war is the power to compose a text, draft a document, and shape a denunciation. Once written, the declaration serves three functions: to articulate the political purposes of the war; to guide and direct military operations; and to establish the boundary between justified combat and unjustified devastation.

Hallett urges citizens and their representatives to take up the challenge and write fully reasoned declarations of war. Then, and only then, can a civilized nation like the United States claim to be fully democratic in both peacetime and wartime.