We think we know civil war when we see it. Yet ideas of what it is, and what it isn’t, have a long and contested history, from its fraught origins in republican Rome to debates in early modern Europe to our present day. Defining the term is acutely political, for ideas about what makes a war “civil” often depend on whether one is a ruler or a rebel, victor or vanquished, sufferer or outsider. Calling a conflict a civil war can shape its outcome by determining whether outside powers choose to get involved or stand aside: from the American Revolution to the war in Iraq, pivotal decisions have depended on such shifts of perspective.

A panel of historians, lawyers and philosophers respond to David Armitage’s book 'Civil Wars: A History in Ideas', in which he offers a unique perspective on the roots and dynamics of civil war, and on its shaping force in our conflict-ridden world.

Speakers: Professor David Armitage, Lloyd C. Blankfein Professor of History, Harvard University; Associate Professor Maartje Abbenhuis, History, University of Auckland; Dr Eleanor Cowan, Lecturer in Roman History, University of Sydney; Professor Andrew Fitzmaurice, Professor of History, University of Sydney; Professor Duncan Ivison, Professor of Political Philosophy and Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) University of Sydney; Professor Ben Saul, Challis Chair of International Law, Sydney Law School

Held as part of the Sydney Ideas program on 5 June 2017

http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2017/professor_david_armitage.shtml