Revolution in Military Affairs James Whitman and the Verdict of Battle
Oct 5, 2026
James Whitman, Ford Foundation Professor at Yale and author of The Verdict of Battle, explores how law once shaped battlefield victory and political outcomes. He discusses why decisive battles faded, Napoleon’s throwback approach, and what drones reveal about modern indecisive war. The conversation also examines expanding battlefields, constant transparency, and how legalizing war can make peace harder to achieve.
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Why Eighteenth-Century Battles Became Contained Wagers
- For most human history, raids targeted enemies and civilians, whereas eighteenth-century warfare contained violence within brief pitched battles.
- Battles functioned as legally accepted wagers whose outcomes both sides recognized despite enormous uncertainty and luck.
The Retreat Rule Defined Victory
- The eighteenth-century law of victory answered two questions modern war leaves ambiguous: who won and what the winner receives.
- Its retreat rule judged victory by battlefield withdrawal rather than casualty totals.
Malplaquet Shows Why Casualties Did Not Decide Victory
- At Malplaquet, the Allies suffered such heavy losses that modern observers might call it a French victory.
- The period’s legal standard still declared France defeated because French forces retreated and abandoned the battlefield.
