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War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organized groups.
It is generally characterized by widespread violence, destruction, and mortality, using Regular army or irregular Military. Warfare refers to the common activities and characteristics of types of war, or of wars in general.
Total war is warfare that is not restricted to purely legitimate military targets, and can result in massive civilian or other non-combatant suffering and casualties.
Raymond Case Kelly, a cultural anthropologist and ethnologist from the US, claimed that before 400,000 years ago, groups of people clashed like groups of chimpanzees, however, later they preferred "positive and peaceful social relations between neighboring groups, such as joint hunting, trading, and courtship." In his book "Warless Societies and the Origin of War" he explores the origins of modern wars and states that high surplus product encourages conflict, so "raiding often begins in the richest environments".
In War Before Civilization, Lawrence H. Keeley, a professor at the University of Illinois, says approximately 90–95% of known societies throughout history engaged in at least occasional warfare, and many fought constantly. Keeley describes several styles of primitive combat such as small raids, large raids, and . All of these forms of warfare were used by primitive societies, a finding supported by other researchers. Keeley explains that early war raids were not well organized, as the participants did not have any formal training. Scarcity of resources meant defensive works were not a cost-effective way to protect the society against enemy raids.Keeley, Lawrence H: War Before Civilization: The Myth of the Peaceful Savage. p. 55. William Rubinstein wrote "Pre-literate societies, even those organized in a relatively advanced way, were renowned for their studied cruelty.'"
Since the rise of the state some 5,000 years ago,Diamond, Jared, Guns, Germs and Steel military activity has continued over much of the globe. In Europe the oldest known battlefield is thought to date to 1250 BC. The Bronze Age has been described as a key period in the intensification of warfare, with the emergence of dedicated warriors and the development of metal weapons like swords. Two other commonly named periods of increase are the Axial Age and Modern Times. & (2011). The Arc of War: Origins, Escalation, and Transformation, (University of Chicago Press). The invention of gunpowder, and its eventual use in warfare, together with the acceleration of technological advances have fomented major changes to war itself.
In Coercion, Capital, and European States, AD 990–1992, Charles Tilly, professor of history, sociology, and social science at the University of Michigan and the Columbia University, described as "the founding father of 21st-century sociology" argued that ‘War made the state, and the state made war,’ saying that wars have led to creation of states which in their turn perpetuate war. Tilly's theory of state formation is considered dominant in the state formation literature.
Since 1945, great power wars, interstate wars,Human Security Research Group (2013). "Human Security Report 2013: The decline in global violence," (Simon Fraser University), p 3. Conquest and war declarations have Long Peace. Wars have been increasingly regulated by international humanitarian law. Battle deaths and casualties have declined, in part due to advances in military medicine and despite advances in weapons. In Western Europe, since the late 18th century, more than 150 conflicts and about 600 battles have taken place, but no battle has taken place since 1945., From 14–18 Understanding the Great War, by Stéphane Audoin-Rouzeau, Annette Becker
However, war in some aspects has not necessarily declined. Civil war have increased in absolute terms since 1945. A distinctive feature of war since 1945 is that combat has largely been a matter of civil wars and insurgencies.Robert J. Bunker and Pamela Ligouri Bunker, "The modern state in epochal transition: The significance of irregular warfare, state deconstruction, and the rise of new warfighting entities beyond neo-medievalism." Small Wars & Insurgencies 27.2 (2016): 325–344. The major exceptions were the Korean War, the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, the Iran–Iraq War, the Gulf War, the Eritrean–Ethiopian War, and the Russo-Ukrainian War.
Explicit/implicit aims:
Positive/negative aims:
War aims can change in the course of conflict and may eventually morph into "peace conditions" (2025). 9780804723800, Stanford University Press. ISBN 9780804723800 – the minimal conditions under which a state may cease to wage a particular war.
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Estimates for total deaths due to war vary widely. In one estimate, primitive warfare from 50,000 to 3000 BCE has been thought to have claimed 400million±133,000 victims based on the assumption that it accounted for the 15.1% of all deaths.Matthew White, 'Primitive War' Ian Morris estimated that the rate could be as high as 20%.Morris, Ian (2012). "The evolution of war," Cliodynamics
War usually results in significant deterioration of infrastructure and the ecosystem, a decrease in social spending, famine, large-scale emigration from the war zone, and often the mistreatment of prisoners of war or civilians. For instance, of the nine million people who were on the territory of the Byelorussian SSR in 1941, some 1.6 million were killed by the Germans in actions away from battlefields, including about 700,000 prisoners of war, 500,000 Jews, and 320,000 people counted as partisans (the vast majority of whom were unarmed civilians).Timothy Snyder, Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin, Basic Books, 2010, p. 250. Another byproduct of some wars is the prevalence of propaganda by some or all parties in the conflict, Dying and Death: Inter-disciplinary Perspectives. p. 153, Asa Kasher (2007) and increased revenues by weapons manufacturers.
Three of the ten most costly wars, in terms of loss of life, have been waged in the last century. These are the two World Wars, followed by the Second Sino-Japanese War (which is sometimes considered part of World War II, or as overlapping). Most of the others involved China or neighboring peoples. The death toll of World War II, being over 60 million, surpasses all other war-death-tolls.McFarlane, Alan: The Savage Wars of Peace: England, Japan and the Malthusian Trap, Blackwell 2003, – cited by White
Swank and Marchand's World War II study found that after sixty days of continuous combat, 98% of all surviving military personnel will become psychiatric casualties. Psychiatric casualties manifest themselves in fatigue cases, confusional states, conversion hysteria, anxiety, obsessional and compulsive states, and character disorders.
Additionally, it has been estimated anywhere from 18% to 54% of Vietnam war veterans suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder.
Based on 1860 census figures, 8% of all white American males aged 13 to 43 died in the American Civil War, including about 6% in the North and approximately 18% in the South. The war remains the deadliest conflict in American history, resulting in the deaths of 620,000 military personnel. United States military casualties of war since 1775 have totaled over two million. Of the 60 million European military personnel who were mobilized in World War I, 8 million were killed, 7 million were permanently disabled, and 15 million were seriously injured.Kitchen, Martin (2000), The Treaty of Versailles and its Consequences , New York: Longman
During Napoleon's retreat from Moscow, more French military personnel died of typhus than were killed by the Russians. The Historical Impact of Epidemic Typhus. Joseph M. Conlon. Of the 450,000 soldiers who crossed the Neman River on 25 June 1812, less than 40,000 returned. More military personnel were killed from 1500 to 1914 by typhus than from military action. War and Pestilence. Time. In addition, if it were not for modern medical advances there would be thousands more dead from disease and infection. For instance, during the Seven Years' War, the Royal Navy reported it conscripted 184,899 sailors, of whom 133,708 (72%) died of disease or were 'missing'.A. S. Turberville (2006). Johnson's England: An Account of the Life & Manners of His Age. p. 53. It is estimated that between 1985 and 1994, 378,000 people per year died due to war.
Most estimates of World War II casualties indicate around 60 million people died, 40 million of whom were civilians. Deaths in the Soviet Union were around 27million. Since a high proportion of those killed were young men who had not yet fathered any children, population growth in the postwar Soviet Union was much lower than it otherwise would have been.
Typically, war becomes intertwined with the economy and many wars are partially or entirely based on economic reasons. The common view among economic historians is that the Great Depression ended with the advent of World War II. Many economists believe that government spending on the war caused or at least accelerated recovery from the Great Depression, though some consider that it did not play a very large role in the recovery, though it did help in reducing unemployment. "Great Depression" , Encyclopædia BritannicaReferring to the effect of World War II spending on the economy, economist John Kenneth Galbraith said, "One could not have had a better demonstration of the Keynesian ideas." In most cases, such as the wars of Louis XIV, the Franco-Prussian War, and World War I, warfare primarily results in damage to the economy of the countries involved. For example, Russia's involvement in World War I took such a toll on the Russian economy that it almost collapsed and greatly contributed to the start of the Russian Revolution of 1917.
By the end of the war, 70% of European industrial infrastructure was destroyed. Property damage in the Soviet Union inflicted by the Axis invasion was estimated at a value of 679 billion rubles. The combined damage consisted of complete or partial destruction of 1,710 cities and towns, 70,000 villages/hamlets, 2,508 church buildings, 31,850 industrial establishments, of railroad, 4100 railroad stations, 40,000 hospitals, 84,000 schools, and 43,000 public libraries. The New York Times, 9 February 1946, Volume 95, Number 32158.
The Italian psychoanalyst Franco Fornari, a follower of Melanie Klein, thought war was the paranoid or projective "elaboration" of mourning.(Fornari 1975) Fornari thought war and violence develop out of our "love need": our wish to preserve and defend the sacred object to which we are attached, namely our early mother and our fusion with her. For the adult, nations are the sacred objects that generate warfare. Fornari focused upon sacrifice as the essence of war: the astonishing willingness of human beings to die for their country, to give over their bodies to their nation.
Despite Fornari's theory that man's altruistic desire for self-sacrifice for a noble cause is a contributing factor towards war, few wars have originated from a desire for war among the general populace.Blanning, T.C.W. "The Origin of Great Wars." The Origins of the French Revolutionary Wars. p. 5 Far more often the general population has been reluctantly drawn into war by its rulers. One psychological theory that looks at the leaders is advanced by Maurice Walsh.Walsh, Maurice N. War and the Human Race. 1971. He argues the general populace is more neutral towards war and wars occur when leaders with a psychologically abnormal disregard for human life are placed into power. War is caused by leaders who seek war such as Napoleon and Adolf Hitler. Such leaders most often come to power in times of crisis when the populace opts for a decisive leader, who then leads the nation to war.
The latter school argues that since warlike behavior patterns are found in many primate species such as chimpanzees, Analysis of chimpanzee war behavior as well as in many ant species, Scholarly comparisons between human and ant wars group conflict may be a general feature of animal social behavior. Some proponents of the idea argue that war, while innate, has been intensified greatly by developments of technology and social organization such as weaponry and states.Johan M.G. van der Dennen. 1995. The Origin of War: Evolution of a Male-Coalitional Reproductive Strategy. Origin Press, Groningen, 1995 chapters 1 & 2
Psychologist and linguist Steven Pinker argued that war-related behaviors may have been naturally selected in the ancestral environment due to the benefits of victory. He also argued that in order to have credible deterrence against other groups (as well as on an individual level), it was important to have a reputation for retaliation, causing humans to develop instincts for revenge as well as for protecting a group's (or an individual's) reputation ("honor").
Crofoot and Wrangham have argued that warfare, if defined as group interactions in which "coalitions attempt to aggressively dominate or kill members of other groups", is a characteristic of most human societies. Those in which it has been lacking "tend to be societies that were politically dominated by their neighbors". Mind the Gap: Tracing the Origins of Human Universals By Peter M. Kappeler, Joan B. Silk, 2009, Chapter 8, "Intergroup Aggression in Primates and Humans; The Case for a Unified Theory", Margaret C. Crofoot and Richard W. Wrangham
Ashley Montagu strongly denied universalistic instinctual arguments, arguing that social factors and childhood socialization are important in determining the nature and presence of warfare. Thus, he argues, warfare is not a universal human occurrence and appears to have been a historical invention, associated with certain types of human societies.Montagu, Ashley (1976), The Nature of Human Aggression (Oxford University Press) Montagu's argument is supported by ethnographic research conducted in societies where the concept of aggression seems to be entirely absent, e.g. the Chewong and Semai people of the Malay peninsula.Howell, Signe and Roy Willis, eds. (1989) Societies at Peace: Anthropological Perspectives. London: Routledge Bobbi S. Low has observed correlation between warfare and education, noting societies where warfare is commonplace encourage their children to be more aggressive. "An Evolutionary Perspective on War" , Bobbi S. Low, published in Behavior, Culture, and Conflict in World Politics, The University of Michigan Press, p. 22
This is one of the earliest expressions of what has come to be called the Malthusian theory of war, in which wars are caused by expanding populations and limited resources. Thomas Malthus (1766–1834) wrote that populations always increase until they are limited by war, disease, or famine. The violent herder–farmer conflicts in Nigeria, Mali, Sudan and other countries in the Sahel region have been exacerbated by land degradation and population growth.
Among prominent historical events that have been attributed to youth bulges are the role played by the historically large youth cohorts in the rebellion and revolution waves of early modern Europe, including the French Revolution of 1789, and the effect of economic depression upon the largest German youth cohorts ever in explaining the rise of Nazism in Germany in the 1930s.Moller, Herbert (1968): 'Youth as a Force in the Modern World', Comparative Studies in Society and History 10: 238–60; 240–44 The 1994 Rwandan genocide has also been analyzed as following a massive youth bulge.Diessenbacher, Hartmut (1994): Kriege der Zukunft: Die Bevölkerungsexplosion gefährdet den Frieden. Muenchen: Hanser 1998; see also (criticizing youth bulge theory) Marc Sommers (2006): "Fearing Africa's Young Men: The Case of Rwanda." The World Bank: Social Development Papers – Conflict Prevention and Reconstruction, Paper No. 32, January 2006 [19] Youth bulge theory has been subjected to statistical analysis by the World Bank,Henrik Urdal (2004): "The Devil in the Demographics: The Effect of Youth Bulges on Domestic Armed Conflict", [20], Population Action International,Population Action International: "The Security Demographic: Population and Civil Conflict after the Cold War"[21] and the Berlin Institute for Population and Development.Kröhnert, Steffen (2004): "Warum entstehen Kriege? Welchen Einfluss haben demografische Veränderungen auf die Entstehung von Konflikten?" [22] Youth bulge theories have been criticized as leading to racial, gender and age discrimination.Hendrixson, Anne: "Angry Young Men, Veiled Young Women: Constructing a New Population Threat" [23]
Parker argues that Western armies were stronger because they emphasized discipline, that is, "the ability of a formation to stand fast in the face of the enemy, where they're attacking or being attacked, without giving way to the natural impulse of fear and panic." Discipline came from drills and marching in formation, target practice, and creating small "artificial kinship groups: such as the company and the platoon, to enhance psychological cohesion and combat efficiency.Parker, :Introduction: pp 2, 3.
"Issue indivisibility" occurs when the two parties cannot avoid war by bargaining, because the thing over which they are fighting cannot be shared between them, but only owned entirely by one side or the other. "Information asymmetry with incentives to misrepresent" occurs when two countries have secrets about their individual capabilities, and do not agree on either: who would win a war between them, or the magnitude of state's victory or loss. For instance, Geoffrey Blainey argues that war is a result of miscalculation of strength. He cites historical examples of war and demonstrates, "war is usually the outcome of a diplomatic crisis which cannot be solved because both sides have conflicting estimates of their bargaining power." Thirdly, bargaining may fail due to the states' inability to make credible commitments.
Within the rationalist tradition, some theorists have suggested that individuals engaged in war suffer a normal level of cognitive bias,Chris Cramer, 'Civil War is Not a Stupid Thing', but are still "as rational as you and me".From point 10 of Modern Conflict is Not What You Think (article) , accessed 16 December 2014. According to philosopher Iain King, "Most instigators of conflict overrate their chances of success, while most participants underrate their chances of injury...."Quote from Iain King, in Modern Conflict is Not What You Think King asserts that "Most catastrophic military decisions are rooted in groupthink" which is faulty, but still rational.Point 6 in Modern Conflict is Not What You Think The rationalist theory focused around bargaining, which is currently under debate. The Iraq War proved to be an anomaly that undercuts the validity of applying rationalist theory to some wars.
Within the realist school as represented by scholars such as Henry Kissinger and Hans Morgenthau, and the neorealist school represented by scholars such as Kenneth Waltz and John Mearsheimer, two main sub-theories are:
The two principal aspects of ethics in war, according to the just war theory, are jus ad bellum and jus in bello.
Jus ad bellum (right to war), dictates which unfriendly acts and circumstances justify a proper authority in declaring war on another nation. There are six main criteria for the declaration of a just war: first, any just war must be declared by a lawful authority; second, it must be a just and righteous cause, with sufficient gravity to merit large-scale violence; third, the just belligerent must have rightful intentions – namely, that they seek to advance good and curtail evil; fourth, a just belligerent must have a reasonable chance of success; fifth, the war must be a last resort; and sixth, the ends being sought must be proportional to means being used.
. "Hitler ordered that Moscow and Leningrad were to be razed to the ground; their inhabitants were to be annihilated or driven out by starvation. These intentions were part of the 'General Plan East'." – The Oxford Companion to World War II.Ian Dear, Michael Richard Daniell Foot (2001). The Oxford Companion to World War II. Oxford University Press. p. 88. ]] Jus in bello (right in war), is the set of ethical rules when conducting war. The two main principles are proportionality and discrimination. Proportionality regards how much force is necessary and morally appropriate to the ends being sought and the injustice suffered. The principle of discrimination determines who are the legitimate targets in a war, and specifically makes a separation between combatants, who it is permissible to kill, and non-combatants, who it is not. Failure to follow these rules can result in the loss of legitimacy for the just-war-belligerent.
The just war theory was foundational in the creation of the United Nations and in international law's regulations on legitimate war.
Lewis Coser, an American conflict theorist and sociologist, argued that conflict provides a function and a process whereby a succession of new equilibriums are created. Thus, the struggle of opposing forces, rather than being disruptive, may be a means of balancing and maintaining a social structure or society.Ankony, Robert C., "Sociological and Criminological Theory: Brief of Theorists, Theories, and Terms", CFM Research, Jul. 2012.
Anti-war movements have existed for every major war in the 20th century, including, most prominently, World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War. In the 21st century, worldwide anti-war movements occurred in response to the United States invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq War. Protests opposing the War in Afghanistan occurred in Europe, Asia, and the United States.
The immediate goal of a ceasefire is to stop violence but the underlying purposes of ceasefires vary. Ceasefires may be intended to meet short-term limited needs (such as providing humanitarian aid), manage a conflict to make it less devastating, or advance efforts to peacefully resolve a dispute. An actor may not always intend for a ceasefire to advance the peaceful resolution of a conflict but instead give the actor an upper hand in the conflict (for example, by re-arming and repositioning forces or attacking an unsuspecting adversary), which creates bargaining problems that may make ceasefires less likely to be implemented and less likely to be durable if implemented.
The durability of ceasefire agreements is affected by several factors, such as demilitarized zones, withdrawal of troops and third-party guarantees and monitoring (e.g. peacekeeping). Ceasefire agreements are more likely to be durable when they reduce incentives to attack, reduce uncertainty about the adversary's intentions, and when mechanisms are put in place to prevent accidents from spiraling into conflict.
/ref> Other scholars find the prehistoric percentage much lower, around 2%, similar to the Neanderthals and ancestors of apes and primates.Gómez, José María et al (Summer 2016). "The phylogenetic roots of human lethal violence," Nature
/ref>
/ref> to severalbillion.Morris, Ian (2012). "The evolution of war," Cliodynamics
/ref>Morris, Ian (2014). War! What It Is Good For? Conflict and the Progress of Civilization from Primates to Robots
/ref> Later researches shifted from Eckhardt's approach to general estimations of the percentage of population killed by wars. Azar Gat and Ian Morris both give the lowest estimate of 1% for history including all the 20th century,Azar Gat (2012). "Is war declining– and why?" Journal of Peace Research
/ref>Morris, Ian (2012). "The evolution of war," Cliodynamics
/ref>Morris, Ian (2014). War! What It Is Good For? Conflict and the Progress of Civilization from Primates to Robots
/ref> or about 1 billion.Haub, Carl (1995). "How many people have ever lived on earth?" Population Today
/ref> The highest estimates of both scholars exceed the famous "hoax" of 3,640,000,000 people killed in wars which circulated decades in scholarly literature in various countries.Jongman, B. & Dennen J. M. G. van der (2005). "The great 'war figures' hoax: An investigation in polemomythology,"
/ref> Gat gives 5%,Azar Gat (2012). "Is war declining– and why?" Journal of Peace Research
/ref> or about 5 billion.Haub, Carl (1995). "How many people have ever lived on earth?" Population Today
/ref> Morris gives for the 20th century 2%, for 1400-1900 3% in Europe and "slightly higher" elsewhere, 5% for the ancient empires in 500 BC - AD 200, 10% for the rest of history and 20% for prehistory.Morris, Ian (2012). "The evolution of war," Cliodynamics
/ref>Morris, Ian (2014). War! What It Is Good For? Conflict and the Progress of Civilization from Primates to Robots
/ref> His total for history is thus about 9 billion.Haub, Carl (1995). "How many people have ever lived on earth?" Population Today
/ref>
Largest wars by death toll
The deadliest war in history, in terms of the cumulative number of deaths since its start, is World War II, from 1939 to 1945, with 70–85 million deaths, followed by the Mongol conquests*The Cambridge History of China: Alien regimes and border states, 907–1368, 1994, p. 622, cited by White
*Matthew White (2011). The Great Big Book of Horrible Things: The Definitive Chronicle of History's 100 Worst Atrocities. at up to 60 million. As concerns a belligerent's losses in proportion to its prewar population, the most destructive war in modern history may have been the Paraguayan War (see Paraguayan War casualties). In 2013 war resulted in 31,000 deaths, down from 72,000 deaths in 1990.
World War II (see World War II casualties) Mongol Empire (see Mongol invasions and Tatar invasions)Ping-ti Ho, "An Estimate of the Total Population of Sung-Chin China", in Études Song, Series 1, No 1, (1970) pp. 33–53. Taiping Rebellion (see Dungan Revolt) An Lushan Rebellion (death toll uncertain) Qing dynasty conquest of Ming dynasty World War I (see World War I casualties) Second Sino-Japanese War Conquests of Tamerlane Matthew White's website (a compilation of scholarly death toll estimates) Dungan Revolt Russian Civil War and Foreign Intervention
On military personnel
Military personnel subject to combat in war often suffer mental and physical injuries, including depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, disease, injury, and death.
On civilians
Most wars have resulted in significant loss of life, along with destruction of infrastructure and resources (which may lead to famine, disease, and death in the civilian population). During the Thirty Years' War in Europe, the population of the Holy Roman Empire was reduced by 15 to 40 percent. The Thirty Years War (1618–48) , Alan McFarlane, The Savage Wars of Peace: England, Japan and the Malthusian Trap (2003) History of Europe – Demographics . Encyclopædia Britannica. Civilians in war zones may also be subject to war atrocities such as genocide, while survivors may suffer the psychological aftereffects of witnessing the destruction of war. War also results in lower quality of life and worse health outcomes. A medium-sized conflict with about 2,500 battle deaths reduces civilian life expectancy by one year and increases infant mortality by 10% and malnutrition by 3.3%. Additionally, about 1.8% of the population loses access to drinking water.
Economic
Once a war has ended, losing nations are sometimes required to pay war reparations to the victorious nations. In certain cases, land is ceded to the victorious nations. For example, the territory of Alsace-Lorraine has been traded between France and Germany on three different occasions.
(2025). 9781317881391, Routledge. ISBN 9781317881391
World War II
World War II was the most financially costly conflict in history; its belligerents cumulatively spent about a trillion U.S. dollars on the war effort (as adjusted to 1940 prices).Coleman, P. (1999) "Cost of the War", World War II Resource Guide (Gardena, California: The American War Library)
The Great Depression of the 1930s ended as nations increased their production of war materials.
Theories of motivation
There are many theories about the motivations for war, but no consensus about which are most common. Military theorist Carl von Clausewitz said, "Every age has its own kind of war, its own limiting conditions, and its own peculiar preconceptions."Clausewitz, Carl Von (1976), On War (Princeton University Press) p. 593
Psychoanalytic
Dutch psychoanalyst Joost Meerloo held that, "War is often...a mass discharge of accumulated internal rage (where)...the inner fears of mankind are discharged in mass destruction."
| A. M. Meerloo, M.D. The Rape of the Mind (2009) p. 134, Progressive Press,
Other psychoanalysts such as E.F.M. Durban and John Bowlby have argued human beings are Inheritance violent.Durbin, E.F.L. and John Bowlby. Personal Aggressiveness and War 1939. This aggressiveness is fueled by displacement and projection where a person transfers his or her grievances into bias and hatred against other races, , or Ideology. By this theory, the nation state preserves order in the local society while creating an outlet for aggression through warfare.
Evolutionary
Several theories concern the evolutionary origins of warfare. There are two main schools: One sees organized warfare as emerging in or after the Mesolithic as a result of complex social organization and greater population density and competition over resources; the other sees human warfare as a more ancient practice derived from common animal tendencies, such as territoriality and sexual competition.Peter Meyer. Social Evolution in Franz M. Wuketits and Christoph Antweiler (eds.) Handbook of Evolution The Evolution of Human Societies and Cultures Wiley-VCH Verlag
Economic
War can be seen as a growth of economic competition in a competitive international system. In this view wars begin as a pursuit of markets for and for wealth. War has also been linked to economic development by economic historians and development economists studying state-building and fiscal capacity. While this theory has been applied to many conflicts, such counter arguments become less valid as the increasing mobility of capital and information level the distributions of wealth worldwide, or when considering that it is relative, not absolute, wealth differences that may fuel wars. There are those on the extreme right of the political spectrum who provide support, fascists in particular, by asserting a natural right of a strong nation to whatever the weak cannot hold by force.Roger Griffin and Matthew Feldman, eds., Fascism: Fascism and Culture, New York: Routledge, 2004.Hawkins, Mike. Social Darwinism in European and American Thought, 1860–1945: Nature as Model and Nature as Threat, Cambridge University Press, 1997. Some centrist, capitalist, world leaders, including Presidents of the United States and U.S. General officer, expressed support for an economic view of war.
Marxist
The Marxism theory of war is quasi-economic in that it states all modern wars are caused by competition for resources and markets between great (Imperialism) powers, claiming these wars are a natural result of capitalism. Marxist economists Karl Kautsky, Rosa Luxemburg, Rudolf Hilferding and Vladimir Lenin theorized that imperialism was the result of capitalist countries needing new markets. Expansion of the means of production is only possible if there is a corresponding growth in consumer demand. Since the workers in a capitalist economy would be unable to fill the demand, producers must expand into non-capitalist markets to find consumers for their goods, hence driving imperialism.
Demographic
Demographic theories can be grouped into two classes, Malthusian and youth bulge theories:
Malthusian
Malthusian theories see expanding population and scarce resources as a source of violent conflict. Pope Urban II in 1095, on the eve of the First Crusade, advocating Crusade as a solution to European overpopulation, said:
Youth bulge
According to Gunnar Heinsohn, who proposed youth bulge theory in its most generalized form, a youth bulge occurs when 30 to 40 percent of the males of a nation belong to the "fighting age" cohorts from 15 to 29 years of age. It will follow periods with total fertility rates as high as 4–8 children per woman with a 15–29-year delay.Helgerson, John L. (2002): "The National Security Implications of Global Demographic Trends"[16] Heinsohn, G. (2006): "Demography and War" (online) Heinsohn saw both past "Christianist" European colonialism and imperialism, as well as today's Islamist civil unrest and terrorism as results of high birth rates producing youth bulges.Heinsohn, G. (2005): "Population, Conquest and Terror in the 21st Century" (online)
Cultural
Geoffrey Parker argues that what distinguishes the "Western way of war" based in Western Europe chiefly allows historians to explain its extraordinary success in conquering most of the world after 1500: The Western way of war rests upon five principal foundations: technology, discipline, a highly aggressive military tradition, a remarkable capacity to innovate and to respond rapidly to the innovation of others andfrom about 1500 onwarda unique system of war finance. The combination of all five provided a formula for military success....The outcome of wars has been determined less by technology, then by better war plans, the achievement of surprise, greater economic strength, and above all superior discipline.Geoffrey Parker, "Introduction" in Parker, ed. The Cambridge illustrated history of warfare (Cambridge University Press 1995) pp 2–11, online
Rationalist
Rationalism is an international relations theory or framework. Rationalism (and Neorealism (international relations)) operate under the assumption that states or international actors are rational, seek the best possible outcomes for themselves, and desire to avoid the costs of war. Under one game theory approach, rationalist theories posit all actors can bargain, would be better off if war did not occur, and likewise seek to understand why war nonetheless reoccurs. Under another rationalist game theory without bargaining, the peace war game, optimal strategies can still be found that depend upon number of iterations played. In "Rationalist Explanations for War", James Fearon examined three rationalist explanations for why some countries engage in war:
Political science
The statistical analysis of war was pioneered by Lewis Fry Richardson following World War I. More recent databases of wars and armed conflict have been assembled by the Correlates of War Project, Peter Brecke and the Uppsala Conflict Data Program. The following subsections consider causes of war from system, societal, and individual levels of analysis. This kind of division was first proposed by Kenneth Waltz in Man, the State, and War and has been often used by political scientists since then.
System-level
There are several different international relations theory schools. Supporters of realism in international relations argue that the motivation of states is the quest for security, and conflicts can arise from the inability to distinguish defense from offense, which is called the security dilemma.
The two theories are not mutually exclusive and may be used to explain disparate events according to the circumstance. Liberalism as it relates to international relations emphasizes factors such as trade, and its role in disincentivizing conflict which will damage economic relations. Critics respond that military force may sometimes be at least as effective as trade at achieving economic benefits, especially historically if not as much today. Furthermore, trade relations which result in a high level of dependency may escalate tensions and lead to conflict. Empirical data on the relationship of trade to peace are mixed, and moreover, some evidence suggests countries at war do not necessarily trade less with each other.
Societal-level
Individual-level
These theories suggest differences in people's personalities, decision-making, emotions, belief systems, and biases are important in determining whether conflicts get out of hand. For instance, it has been proposed that conflict is modulated by bounded rationality and various cognitive biases, such as prospect theory.
Ethics
The morality of war has been the subject of debate for thousands of years.
Limiting and stopping
Religious groups have long formally opposed or sought to limit war as in the Second Vatican Council document Gaudiem et Spes: "Any act of war aimed indiscriminately at the destruction of entire cities of extensive areas along with their population is a crime against God and man himself. It merits unequivocal and unhesitating condemnation."" Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes Promulgated by His Holiness, Pope Paul VI on December 7, 1965 "
Pauses
During a war, the parties may agree to pauses. A ceasefire is a stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions often due to mediation by a third party. Ceasefires may be declared as part of a formal treaty but also as part of an informal understanding between opposing forces. A ceasefire can be temporary with an intended end date or may be intended to last indefinitely. A ceasefire is distinct from an armistice in that the armistice is a formal end to a war whereas a ceasefire may be a temporary stoppage.
See also
Notes
Bibliography
(2025). 9781783744039, Open Book Publishers. ISBN 9781783744039
External links
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