Provisionality and Finality

Abstract

International conflicts since World War II have shown a decline in the forms and modalities of beginnings and endings which are characteristic of Western war since the seventeenth century. As the custom of declaring war has become apparently obsolete, so the termination of conflicts involves, at best, accord on provisional settlement, in which authoritative action and agreement on a political settlement are set aside. A stress on provisionality rules out "concord" as a basis for peace. As political strategy, peacekeeping works within a narrow time frame. The article explores strategic perspectives on provisional settlements.