Vingtième Siècle. Revue d'histoire - Année 1984 - Volume 3 - Numéro 1 - Pages 17-26War in the plural : a classification of twentieth century wars, Jean-Baptiste Duroselle. Without engaging in the discussion about the « innate » or the « acquired » character of the phenomenon of war, the author proposes an empirical classification for the twentieth century : he identifies six criteria : « white » / « colonial », limited / long, Worldwide / short wars, scope of weapons, law and ethics, origins of conflicts. He concludes that there is no simple explanation, but observes a hiatus between the « early » and the « late » twentieth century and describes the horrendous emergence of the nation-states through wars throughout the century. 10 pages Source : Persée ; Ministère de la jeunesse, de l’éducation nationale et de la recherche, Direction de l’enseignement supérieur, Sous-direction des bibliothèques et de la documentation.