Virtual War

Virtual War: Kosovo and Beyond
By Michael Ignatieff

In this book Michael Ignatieff looks at the implications of modern warfare. With reference to Kosovo, which he identifies as the first “virtual war”, he writes about the consequences of waging a war in which we are more voyeurs than combatants. He also looks at the ways in which we justify warfare and the hypocrisy, albeit necessary, of killing in the name of protecting human rights.

One of the parts of Virtual War that I found particularly interesting was Ignatieff’s writing about Louise Arbour in her capacity as the chief prosecutor of the War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague. I found his discussions with her around the indictment of Milosevic to be fascinating, particularly because I had the pleasure of hearing her speak about the same subject when she visited the University of Victoria Faculty of Law while I was student there.

I found this book to be philosophically interesting and thought provoking.