War Seen “from Below”: Transformations, Logics, and Practices of Resistance

Since war has returned to the European continent—though, in truth, it had never fully departed—public debate and scholarly discourse have seen the resurgence of ghosts many believed exorcised with the end of the twentieth, or even nineteenth, century. The rhetoric of Europe as a “civilian power,” the optimistic projections regarding the global expansion of liberal democracies, and the idea of commerce as a pacifying force have all but vanished from newspaper editorials, television debates, and even academic journals. In their place, we witness the resurgence of concepts such as “national security,” the strategic imperative of “spheres of influence” among major powers, the vital urgency of “core interests,” and even nostalgic calls for the return of military conscription. The refined “postmodern” reflections on the soft power of culture—once seen as the manipulative force behind the language of realpolitik—have given way to cruder perceptions of geopolitics. In these discourses, war is framed as an inescapable destiny. The only viable alternative, we are told, is to arm oneself in the face of inevitable conflict. This logic perpetuates the brutal paradigm of the “security dilemma,” compelling states, almost mechanically, to rearm.  Such dynamics relentlessly corrode the very foundations of international sovereignty. This issue of Soft Powerseeks to invert the dominant framework and to adopt a different point of view. 

Whereas mainstream representations of contemporary war tend to abstract armed confrontation into stylized scenarios with homogeneous actors, narratives often constructed through a univocal geopolitical lens and the operational vocabulary of “military hubs” and great powers, our intention is to reframe the logic of war “from below.” We aim to examine how war transforms the resistances of the most vulnerable segments of society. Wars, in fact, should be understood not only as geopolitical crises, as moments in which power relations among states are radically reconfigured and junctures at which “revisionist” powers seek recognition and a status long denied to them. But wars—not only the so-called “new wars”—are also profound episodes of social restructuring: they modify the foundational dynamics of capitalist production, penetrate the spaces of civilian life, and redefine mechanisms of control within society. To grasp these shifts, we must look beyond the theatrical surface—the spectacularized arena where the thunder of weapons resounds and national leaders proclaim the “rebirth” or “defense” of their peoples’ interests. It is essential to dig beneath that terrain, to search for the subtle signs of deeper transformations—those less visible, yet no less consequential—within everyday life and institutional arrangements. These other forms of conflict—quieter, yet constantly reshaping power relations—ultimately determine the terrain on which the true battle is waged.

Soft Power invites submissions of articles that address the following themes:

• theoretical deconstruction of the logic of war, particularly in its intersections with contemporary conflicts; 
• exploration of the implications of belligerent discourse on relations of gender, race, and class, both within and beyond the Western political landscape;
• analysis of the transformations of warfare that accounts for its entanglements with the implications of “hybrid zones”, “grey areas”, and “cognitive warfare”, particularly regarding techniques of social control and political governance; analysis of the social, political, and economic consequences of the emerging “war regime,” with particular attention to its manifestations in Western societies;
• study of practices of resistance and contestation against the logics of war in the contemporary global scenario, including their relation to law and legal norms;
• critical assessment of belligerent rhetoric and its foundational theories;
• critical analysis of the forms of international doctrines and the dominant paradigms of international justice.

Soft Power invites submissions of articles of 6,000 to 6,500 words, including footnotes.

Juridical, philosophical, theoretical, historical and interdisciplinary articles are welcome. 

All articles are peer-reviewed using a double-blind peer-review process. Articles must be written in English or in Spanish. Abstracts and keywords must be in English as well as in Spanish in order to facilitate the inclusion in international databases and indexing services.

Papers (with Name, Title, little Abstract – max 20 lines – and Keywords) should be sent to info@softpowerjournal.com.

DEADLINES: Full Article must be received by 10th September 2025 (acceptance of the papers shall be communicated by 10th October 2025).