Mass politics can harden war aims

The thread begins with a claim that opposing sides in civil war may be unable to compromise, then complicates it with the observation that negotiated peace was more common before the mid-nineteenth century. A commenter argues that broad political participation and heavy civilian sacrifice can harden a population's commitment instead of making surrender easier. The First World War and Franco-Prussian War are offered as examples in which losses helped sustain resistance beyond what older diplomatic precedent might suggest. The argument receives qualified agreement, with the added point that politicians can still forget how attacks on a population strengthen its sense of legitimacy and opposition. This account of war termination and mass politics does not claim that every modern conflict must end in total defeat.