I & I L Capstone: War and Culture

Abstract Statement

Although culture is a key topic in the purview of theoretical discussions, the concept of war and culture is a new notion that has not been engaged by many analysts. Indeed Adrian Lewis underscores the importance of war and culture in "The American Culture of War in the Age of Artificial Limited War" when he posits that culture decisively influences the way nation-states conduct war (Lewis 226). This work aims to shift focus from the traditional focus on culture as a method of analysis and instead examine various commentary on the military and its application as a form of cultural activity.

America's Self-Imposed Cultural Attitude Towards War

There have been widespread calls to consider the normative cultural interpretations of war. Most notably, the works of Adrian Lewis as demonstrated in his treatise The American Culture of War, are a classic pointer of the dynamic and contested nature that culture assumes in the interpretation of war. Lewis poignantly articulates the need to apply such cultural interpretations in a deterministic fashion (Lewis 225).

In writing The American Culture of War, Lewis depicts war as a systematic orchestrated phenomenon, which in essence is a prolongation of culture through other techniques (Lewis 227). To prove this argument Lewis presents two cardinal subjects. First he provides an explicit analysis of the transformations that America has undergone since World War II and addresses the fundamental root-causes of such changes by examining their association with culture (Lewis 225). Secondly, Lewis examines different confrontations that have involved the United States and other countries and the impact of such confrontations on America’s war strategies and methodologies (Lewis 226).

Lewis contends that the cultural thought of America has