Why Is There War?

And How Do We Stop It?

The cause of war has been debated for as long as wars have existed. To kill another human for a belief is a true representation of one’s spirit, and devotion to a cause. Yet, seemingly millions of needless deaths have taken place throughout all of history, and the justifications are almost always disputed. If we take politics of the study of power; who has the power, and gets to authorise the use of it, then war is only a natural event, when power is shifted dramatically between nations. However, as is the case with all things in politics, and with it the world, nuance (gifted to us by hindsight) will help our analysis of why small wars take place so frequently, yet massive skirmishes are much less common.

Battles between nations over land disputes is arguably the most justifiable, inevitable, and preventable reason for war. There is an extensive list of countries (think Palestine/ Israel, Ukraine/ Russia, Scotland/ the UK, Ireland/ the UK, Catalonia/ Spain, Cyprus/ Greece/ Turkey, Kurdistan) that dispute drawn borders and to varying degrees, fight for their independence. Bloodshed is not uncommon for disputes over territory, with countless Palestinians being murdered under the expansion of Israel. However, it is also not uncommon for disputes to be settled through democratic means, such as Scotlands appeals to Westminster, to become an independent country. Therefore, if this is truly a common reason for war, how may we prevent it? Unfortunately the solution solely operates on a case-by case basis, as there is not one solution that will solve all the issues. Some countries desire a two-state solution (e.g. Catalonia or Scotland), however some politicians will never be satisfied until the entire piece of land is owned by one nation (e.g. Cyprus or Ireland).

Religion and resource competition are reasons for war which, as argued for by many historians, should have been left in the past, yet persist. Particularly in North Africa, and the Middle East, conflicts over the dominance of a religion have shaped the region, with entire histories being moulded by wars. It is the unavoidable pervasiveness of war that is the cause of refugees. Refugees are solely a byproduct of the terrors of war. Religion is a very difficult reason for war, and attempts to address it are often cut short. There was a period of Eastward expansion in the 1990s and 2000s, undertaken by the United States and United Kingdom. Both nations attempted to impose Liberal Democracy after the Gulf war, but ended up funding terrorist groups, which then performed 9/11 and saw the Taliban taking ownership of Afghanistan.

The Cuban Missile Crisis

The 13 days of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1961 started with the Bay of Pigs, which lead Cuba asking Russia for aid, who deployed missiles in Cuba for defence. Throughout the 1950s, a repressive dictator, Fulgencio Batista, controlled Cuba. Batista was unpopular in Cuba but had the support of the American government. The US saw Cuba as being part of its sphere of influence and controlled most of Cuba’s industry. However, in January 1959, the Cuban Revolution saw the overthrow of Batista by Fidel Castro. Castro was a communist who took control of all American property and expelled US capitalists from Cuba.

In response, the US government. stopped buying Cuban sugar, which threatened to bankrupt the Cuban economy. As he was communist, Castro turned to the Soviet Union for help. Khrushchev offered to buy the Cuban sugar and also agreed to send weapons to Cuba at the end of 1959. In early 1960, Soviet diplomats visited Castro. In September 1960, Khrushchev openly promised to send military assistance to Cuba. Khrushchev was eager to secure a diplomatic victory over Kennedy after failing to unite Berlin. Kennedy was anxious that there was a Soviet backed communist regime only 145 km from American mainland in Florida. US military advisors wanted to launch missiles at Cuba but Kennedy decided he wanted to invade to take the weapons. Khrushchev took this as a threat. Two officers ordered the launch of nuclear weapons but one officer opposed this. A proposal was agreed on the removal of US weapons from Turkey if Russia removed their weapons from Cuba.

Imperialism

The expansion of the United States to Cuba demonstrates an attempt to colonialise a nation. Imperialist leaders are often Classical Realists, who have innate desires to dominate other nations, such as Hans Morgenthau. Donald J. Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Vladmir Putin are objectively imperialists, as they seek to expand their control physically. To stop this international dominance, a larger International organisation would have to step up to the conflict, directly opposing the expansion of the imperialist. War is a costly lottery for thinkers such as Fearon, which has high stakes, and often involves a massive price in order to reach intended outcomes.

Civil Wars

Civil disputes are another reason for war. The United States, Russia, Yemen, Rwanda, and France have all famously settled internal disputes through armed conflict. Throughout history, many small conflicts arise due to a strong passion from one side, which transcends agreement and is sent straight to deaths and fighting. Issues such as slavery, monarchies, and political conflicts are quick to anger and volatile members of society will often be willing to fight over these issues. When lives are threatened due to inequality, people have an innate sense of justice that they seek to implement. As a result, we see people risking their lives to protect their ideals, this is most commonly the case within non-international armed conflicts, that identify as civil-wars.

Conclusion

Overall, the reasons for warfare are varied, but it is often initiated due to a wish for more territory. Historical grievances can oftentimes be heightened through religious differences, particularly in the Middle East, only made worse after meddling from foreign governments. Social unrest arising from unstable or unfair economies was a larger reason individuals would want wars to begin, and are more uncommon today, due to the industrial military complex, placing all offensive power measures in the hands of the wealthy elites; effectively rendering an uprising from those most disadvantaged in society, impossible. The only way to reduce the number of conflicts today is for international organisations, relying on shared agreements, to implement peacekeeping measures, preventing “one-state solutions” that are founded upon religious supremacy.