“Lives and Statistics: Are 90% of War Victims Civilians?”, 2010-06-02 ():
It has become a commonplace to say that war has changed radically since the early 20th century to the point where civilians now comprise some 80–90% of war victims. This proposition has been supported by many writers and academics, some United Nations agencies, and the European Union in its European Security Strategy.
Yet it rests on shaky foundations. It is possible that in some particular conflicts 9⁄10 deaths are of civilians, but the proposition does not hold up as a generalization about all war in the past two decades. There is persuasive evidence that certain wars have had civilian death tolls far lower than 90%.
The proposition, intended to alert the world to the importance of protecting civilians, has probably had the unintended effect of reinforcing cynicism about efforts to limit the human costs of war.