Between the Lines of Questionable Battles
This article was published in Politique étrangère in 1979, the year the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri) was founded. In it, Raymond Aron reviews important events of the previous decade, such as the Vietnam War. He particularly reflects on the place of law, morality, force and national interest in international relations. Related topics, like the right to intervene and the responsibility to protect, are implicitly included in this article.
The French in 1954 and the Americans in 1973 withdrew from the three countries in the Indochina peninsula, now subject to parties that claim to follow the same ideology. And the wars continue, either between armies, or between an army and guerrilla forces. The withdrawal of the Western powers did not enable the people to decide on self-determination, on their desire for independence or their quarrels. Previously involved in the East-West conflict, here the Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Laotians are the subject of the rivalry between the two great Marxist-Leninist powers.
The analyst who wants to score points against Marxism-Leninism can find opportunities there. The combatants profess the same doctrine, which they counter by their deeds. If capitalism is intrinsically imperialist and socialism is intrinsically peaceful, how do these views reconcile with experience? The Viets and the Khmer Rouge, allied against the Americans and the governments supported by them, seem to have foreseen the new power struggle from the day of their joint victory. The Chinese had supported and supplied the Hanoi government during the first war against the French, as well as during the second one against the “puppets” in Saigon and the United States. Four years after the fall of Thieu the Vietnamese were closely linked to Moscow, incorporated into the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) and at the same time deemed enemies by the Chinese, the formidable neighbor they resisted for centuries.
The East-West rivalry obeyed unwritten rules that were more or less respected. The most rarely broken rule was the one that forbade border crossings by regular armies. It seems that it no longer inspires respect. Indian troops, governed at the time by Mrs Gandhi, crossed the border of Pakistan’s eastern province, a province in revolt against the so-called central government in Islamabad, some 3,000 kilometers from Bengal. Should the then “Empress of India” be accused of aggression? Formally, she definitely should be, but what was the alternative? Voters in what became Bangladesh had voted overwhelmingly for the independence party. Negotiations between General Yahya Khan and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the independence party leader and the father of the nation (later assassinated), had failed. The latter was thrown in prison; revolt broke out and repression too; insurgents in the eastern province proclaimed their state, and this provoked resistance and guerrilla warfare. Without Indian intervention, guerrilla warfare and repression would have continued for years. The legal judgment does not leave any doubt; however, the political and moral judgment wavers. In Africa, Tanzania sent its troops, accompanied by Ugandan refugees, to attack Field Marshal Idi Amin’s bloodthirsty dictatorship. The Tanzanian troops have not yet withdrawn and Uganda has not established relatively stable government. […]
Raymond Aron is a French philosopher, political scientist and journalist.
Available in:
Themes and regions
Share
This page contains only a summary of our work. If you would like to have access to all the information from our research on the subject, you can download the full version in PDF format.
Between the Lines of Questionable Battles
Iran: Anatomy of a Power at War
The elimination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and several high-ranking officials at the outset of the 2026 American-Israeli operation did not succeed in bringing down the Iranian regime. The regime had prepared for such a scenario, notably by decentralizing its structures. Moreover, it continues to adapt to war. The power of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is growing at the expense of the Shiite clergy. The security apparatus defends the country’s sovereignty and justifies its actions in the name of raison d’état.
“Remodeling” the Middle East?
Chaos continues to spread, seemingly without end, across the Middle East. The Israeli-American attack on Iran has resulted in a clear military and diplomatic failure, but it is paving the way for a regional realignment, the consequences of which remain uncertain. New regional groupings are taking shape, either centered around Israel or built on the prospect of coexistence with Tehran, alongside a decline in American influence and the marginalization of Europe, while China maintains a low-key presence.
Silicon Valley and War: Lessons from Ukraine
Over the course of international conflicts, and particularly in Ukraine, major tech companies have emerged as central actors. Initially subject to wartime maneuvering, they have since become decisive actors in their own right, privatizing a significant share of wartime exchanges, shaping the information flows of societies, and presenting themselves as providers of security. This situation raises important questions about states’ autonomy in making decisions and taking action.
Does Artificial Intelligence Change the Nature of War?
From Gaza to Ukraine and Iran, current conflicts are being shaped by the arrival of artificial intelligence and robots on the battlefield. The changes under way are so profound that humans risk rapidly losing control over entire aspects of the conduct of military operations. While these technological developments are altering the character of war, their impact on the very nature of war itself remains a matter of debate.