This chapter considers the question of why wars at the beginning of the twenty-first century have been comparatively more limited and restrained. Taking as a starting point the key Clausewitzian insight that the conduct of war is shaped in part by the domestic societal and political make-up of polities, it explores the idea that the wars and strategies of the last twenty years, from 1989 until 2009, have been affected by the overall decline in popular participation in politics. It presents two arguments. First, Clausewitz’s theory of war, particularly his argument about the influence of the social and political structures of polities on warfare, and his thoughts on the people provide a fruitful way to conceptualize the ways in which changing domestic political conditions might affect the character of war at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Second, the relative weakening of the people’s political participation has contributed to the changing character of war between 1989 and 2009, making it comparatively more limited and restrained.