The persistence of war as a feature of modern life is examined through issues of identity and difference, that is, the construction of 'self' and 'other' as individual or community. Key texts relating specifically to identity and war are addressed, including those by Nietzsche, Heiddeger, Marcuse, Freud, Lacan, Honneth, Bataille, Simmel, Elshtain, Ruddick, Schmitt, Delanda, Hardt and Negri, Baudrillard, Virilio, Beck and Joas. Its theoretical approach sets this study apart from the traditional political science and IR approaches to the subject and makes a significant contribution within this area of social theory, cultural studies and communication studies.