Prof. Olanrewaju Olu-Adeyemi

NTRODUCTION WE propose to consider first the single elements of our subject, then each branch or part, and, last of all, the whole, in all its relations—therefore to advance from the simple to the complex. But it is necessary for us to commence with a glance at the nature of the whole, because it is particularly necessary that in the consideration of any of the parts the whole should be kept constantly in view. We shall not enter into any of the abstruse definitions of war used by publicists. We shall keep to the element of the thing itself, to a duel. War is nothing but a duel on an extensive scale. If we would conceive as a unit the countless number of duels which make up a war, we shall do so best by supposing to ourselves two wrestlers. Each strives by physical force to compel the other to submit to his will: his first object is to throw his adversary, and thus to render him incapable of further resistance. War therefore is an act of violence to compel our opponent to fulfil ou

Aug. 12  President Morsi forced the retirement of his powerful defense minister , Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi; the army chief of staff, Sami Anan; and several senior generals. The purge seemed for the moment to reclaim for civilian leaders much of the political power the Egyptian military had seized since the fall of Hosni Mubarak. Mr. Morsi also named a senior judge, Mahmoud Mekki, as his vice-president. Aug. 8  Egypt was reported to have  launched its first airstrikes in decades in the restive Sinai Peninsula , deploying attack helicopters to strike at gunmen after the shootings of 16 Egyptian soldiers three days earlier. On the same day, in a major shake-up, Egypt’s new president, Mohamed Morsi, fired his intelligence chief and the governor of Northern Sinai. He also asked Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi to replace the commander of the military police. Aug. 6  The Israeli defense minister,  Ehud Barak , said that a terrorist attack that killed 15 Egyptian sol

Khalil Hamra/Associated Press Egypt is the most populous country in the Arab world, and its revolution in February 2011 was the capstone event of the Arab Spring, inspiring demonstrators in Libya, Syria and elsewhere. But in June 2012, a series of events threw the country’s troubled transition to democracy deeper into confusion as Egypt’s two most powerful forces — the military establishment and the  Muslim Brotherhood , the Islamist group — moved toward a showdown. A swift series of steps by the military and its allies in the judiciary left many observers in Egypt and the West wondering if they were witnessing a subtle military coup, or even a counterrevolution. For decades, the Brotherhood had been the primary opposition to the military dictatorship of  Hosni Mubarak . When the unrest of the Arab Spring came to Egypt in January 2011, it was young liberal activists who ignited the protests, but it was the Brotherhood’s decision to join that gave them critical mass. Yet it w

ADEKUNLE AJASIN UNIVERSITY AKUNGBA AKOKO DEPT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION POS 404: THEORIES OF WAR AND STRATEGIES OF PEACE Course description War is a most constant phenomenon in the continuing evolution of politically organized human communities from the earliest times to the present. So also has the attempt to restore peace become an inevitable accompaniment of the phenomenon of war. This course examines these realities, seeking in the process an appreciation of the real nature and causes of war as explicated in extant theoretical postulations on the one hand, and the strategies of attaining peace on the other. Expectations To facilitate robust interaction on the topics in the class; a list or relevant texts and documents is provided by the Instructor. Every student is expected to search, read and understand the key arguments of the identified articles before coming to class. A good percentage of the overall scores go to constructive participation in class an

What is War? 1. Introduction. WE propose to consider first the single elements of our subject, then each branch or part, and, last of all, the whole, in all its relations—therefore to advance from the simple to the complex. But it is necessary for us to commence with a glance at the nature of the whole, because it is particularly necessary that in the consideration of any of the parts the whole should be kept constantly in view. 2. Definition. We shall not enter into any of the abstruse definitions of war used by publicists. We shall keep to the element of the thing itself, to a duel. War is nothing but a duel on an extensive scale. If we would conceive as a unit the countless number of duels which make up a war, we shall do so best by supposing to ourselves two wrestlers. Each strives by physical force to compel the other to submit to his will: his first object is to throw his adversary, and thus to render him incapable of further resistance. War therefore is an act of violence t