The Shield of Achilles Quotes

“Now the fundamental constitutional problem of the Long War has been answered. Government by consent, freely given and periodically capable of being withdrawn, is what legitimates the nation-state. Government under law—not government that is above the law—provides the means by which states are legitimated.* So the next question intrudes itself: what are the strategic consequences of the peace? What”
― Philip Bobbitt, The Shield of Achilles: War, Peace, and the Courtse of History

“In the eighteenth century the extreme expense of highly professionalized armies made them far too precious to be risked in battle once technological innovations in warfare made actual fighting so lethal; advantages accruing to the defense imperiled any army that actually sought battle.19 * Battles became actions of maneuver, culminating in the tactical withdrawal of one party once it was forced into an untenable position. Similarly, in the second half of the twentieth century, nuclear weapons—which, once mutual and secure against pre-emption, gave to the defense an asset of infinite value—made the hot battles of the First and Second World Wars too risky for the U.S. and the USSR.”
― Philip Bobbitt, The Shield of Achilles: War, Peace, and the Courtse of History

“PLATE I: THE CONSTITUTIONAL ORDERS PLATE II: THE EPOCHAL WARS PLATE III: THE INTERNATIONAL ORDERS PLATE IV: BASES FOR LEGITIMACY PLATE V: HISTORIC, STRATEGIC, AND CONSTITUTIONAL INNOVATIONS”
― Philip Bobbitt, The Shield of Achilles: War, Peace, and the Courtse of History