ABSTRACT
Jan Bloch presented at the threshold of the twentieth century a compelling vision of a modern war, warning against the costs of striving for victory in conflicts employing the technology and organisation of the industrial age. Research on modern ‘wars of the West’ significantly lacks a solid point of reference regarding the key element of any armed conflict: victory. Transforming the enemy into an ally after the war in turn requires usually massive investment, adopting a responsibility for the situation created, reasonable self-constraint and the cooperation of the defeated party. International institutions usually support the settlement of disputes without resorting to violence, providing an alternative not only for wars themselves, but also for the perception of their results. There are many intermediate states describing a level of success understood as the degree to which the war solved problems leading to it.
