Small Wars w. Lauren Benton of Yale

Riches and Power

Imagine a war ravaging your home and everything you know. But this isn’t a normal war, it is, in the eyes of the aggressor, a “small war.” The aggressor perhaps calls it a “peacekeeping mission.” From your perspective, this doesn’t matter one bit. Death is death and violence is violence. Throughout modern history, imperial powers have waged so-called small wars across the globe while resisting calls to define these conflicts as wars. Why are small wars so integral to understanding imperial powers in the modern world, and why is it that these conflicts so frequently garner little notice? Join us as we learn about imperial small wars and Lauren Benton's recent book They Called it Peace.