This article explores the causes for informality in war termination and advocates for a return to formality.
Forever wars are a new, pervasive problem. Around the world, conflicts have been simmering and occasionally boil over. They do not seem to end, and this is not normal. International law scholars debate why this is happening, pointing to an expanding law of war, technological advances, and a strategic equilibrium that favors war over peace, among others.
The authors propose that one of the main causes is the rise of informal war termination—the shift from “Treaties to Tweets.” They advocate re-injecting formality back into the process of war termination to put an end to forever wars.