There seem to be two types, or two facets, of war: for power or for survival. In the former, the lives of peasants don't change much, just who they pay taxes to. In the latter, the peasants get genocided, and the conquerors move in. Malthus predicts this latter scenario.
Sun Tzu's treatise "The Art of War" is strictly about the former. His ideal flawless victory is where the enemy surrenders without a fight. This is unlikely to happen when surrender means death to you, your family, and loved ones: fight a losing war to the last man, to your last breath, anything goes.
I wildly speculate that most wars throughout human history and prehistory have ended in genocide or forced migration, perhaps caused by local resource exhaustion. Although it seems distasteful, genocide might be the norm of human behavior. This means it will be incredibly difficult to eradicate.
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