Colonial Violence

European Empires and the Use of Force

Dierk Walter

A comprehensive account of how Europeans have used violence to conquer, coerce and police in pursuit of imperialism and colonial settlement
Provides a theory behind the logic of violent hostilities within the context of European expansion
Argues that recent Western military interventions, from Afghanistan to Mali, are not new wars, but stand in the 500-year-old tradition of transcultural violent conflict

Colonial Violence

European Empires and the Use of Force

Dierk Walter

Description

Western interventions today have much in common with the countless violent conflicts that have occurred on Europe's periphery since the conquest of the Americas in the sixteenth century. Like their predecessors, modern imperial wars are shaped especially by spatial features and by pronounced asymmetries of military organisation, resources, modes of warfare and cultures of violence between the respective parties. Today's imperial wars are essentially civil wars, in which Western powers are only one player among many. As ever, the Western military machine is proving incapable of resolving political strife through force, or of engaging opponents with no reason to offer conventional combat, who instead rely on guerrilla warfare and terrorism. And, as they always have, local populations pay the price for these shortcomings.

Colonial Violence aims to offer, for the first time, a coherent explanation of the logic of violent hostilities within the context of European expansion. Walter's analysis reveals parallels between different empires and continuities spanning historical epochs. He concludes that recent Western military interventions, from Afghanistan to Mali, are not new wars, but stand in the 500-year-old tradition of transcultural violent conflict, under the specific conditions of colonialism.

Colonial Violence

European Empires and the Use of Force

Dierk Walter

Introduction

1. War on the Periphery
Spatial conditions
Logistics and mobility
The enemies of empire
The power of empires
Limits to the projection of power
Troop numbers, population and area
Controlling a region
Grey areas
Decision at all costs
Cooperation
Political warfare
Conclusion

2. Objectives and Justifications
Limited objectives
Punitive expeditions
Enforcing obedience
Regime change
Subjugation
Pillage and destruction
The aims of total war
Opportunism
Motivations of indigenous peoples
Conclusion

3. Crossing boundaries
War without rules
Military necessity
Severity and determination
Cultural distance
'Indian Country'
Discourses on retribution
Traditions of violence
Institutional dynamics
States of exception
Conclusion

4. Asymmetry, Adaptation and Learning
Armed forces
Tactics
Technology
Fortresses
War at sea
War in the air
Cultures of violence in conflict
Knowledge and ignorance
Learning
Conclusion

Conclusion
Acknowledgements
Notes
Bibliography

Colonial Violence

European Empires and the Use of Force

Dierk Walter

Author Information

Dierk Walter is a lecturer in modern history at the Universities of Bern and Hamburg. His research focuses on the history of European expansion and Western military history since the eighteenth century. He has previously published a study on nineteenth-century Prussian military reform, and co-edited a number of volumes on military history and the Cold War.

The translation of this work was funded by Geisteswissenschaften International - Translation Funding for Work in the Humanities and Social Sciences from Germany, a joint initiative of the Fitz Thyssen Foundation, the German Federal Foreign Office, the collecting society VG WORT and the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (German Publishers & Booksellers Association).

Colonial Violence

European Empires and the Use of Force

Dierk Walter

Reviews and Awards

"An important book that offers a clear point of view on the violence inherent to imperialism, whether Western or not. Worth considering alongside high rates of violence in recent and current non-Western warfare." -- Jeremy Black, Professor of History, University of Exeter

"Colonial Violence offers a comprehensive, scholarly interpretation and synthesis of the pattern of military violence associated with imperialism since around 1600. Based on a wide and deep familiarity with imperial military campaigns and asymmetric conflict, its conclusions regarding the weakness of the imperial powers relative to their indigenous foes, the continuities in imperial campaigns over time and place, and the root cause of excessive violence in the imperial situation rather than in ideology, will surprise and challenge many readers. Well written and clearly organized, this study will doubtless become a standard account of imperial military violence."-- Isabel Virginia Hull, John Stambaugh Professor of History, Cornell University

"It is excellent that Dierk Walter's survey of colonial conflict has been translated into English. This is military history as it should be written: conceptually broad, chronologically ambitious, and -- above all -- transnational. His case for continuity -- bridging colonial conquest, decolonization, and recent interventions -- will provoke, as it should, but that is the hallmark of an important book."-- Sir Hew Strachan, Chichele Professor of the History of War, Oxford University

"Broad canvas syntheses that put violence at the heart of the West's engagement with the wider world have been rare-- understanding and acceptance of the significance and consequences of its violence rarer still. Walter brings enormous comparative and summary power to its study, resulting in a highly readable and necessary work. Colonial Violence should stand as an elegant corrective, particularly in its emphasis on the continuity of violence through to the present day."-- Ashley Jackson, Professor of Imperial and Military History, King's College London; author of The British Empire: A Very Short Introduction

"Walter, with forensic skill, comprehensively analyses the causes, courses, and consequences of colonial wars and violence. This startlingly good study should be read and thought over by all with an interest in Europe's global imperial military reach over the past five hundred years."-- David Killingray, Emeritus Professor, Goldsmiths London

"With its sophisticated analysis and thorough use of the scholarly literature on its subject, this is a study that nobody interested in the subject can afford to neglect."-- Choice