The period that covers World War I, World War II, through the end of the Cold War, is sometimes called the “Long War.” Philip Bobbitt refers to it as such in The Shield of Achilles, which I reviewed here. The Long War is characterized as a battle of the nation-states that originated near the end of the 19th century. It was a battle over three constitutional orders: liberal democracy, communism and fascism. It was a period of time in which weapons technology advanced faster than any other period in history. These wars also took on a new level of nihilism via “total warfare,” where war became more than just a contest between professional armies. While greater weapons lead to greater potential destruction, there are also cultural issues at play. You have to go back further than World War I to find the origins of total war. You can look back at the French Revolution, and the Battle of Valmy.