International Conflict

CHAPTER FIVE

Dr. Clayton ThynePS 235-001: World Politics

Spring 2009

Goldstein & Pevehouse, International Relations, 8/e

Student notes version

• Largest contemporary wars:• • •

• Of the 11 wars, all but Chechnya (Russia) are in the ________________________________.

• All but Colombia are in a zone of active fighting spanning parts of Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East.

• Most peace agreements in the world’s postwar zones are _____________________________.

Types of War: Hegemonic War

• War over control of the entire world order – the rules of the international system as a whole, including the role of world hegemony.

• Last hegemonic war was _________________• Likely that due to the power of modern

weaponry, this kind of war could not occur any longer without destroying civilization

Types of War: Total War• Def:

• Goal is to…

• Evolved with industrialization, which further integrated all of society and economy into the practice of war

• Example: • Last total war:

Types of War: Limited War• Includes military actions carried out to…

• Example: • Raids:

–

–

Types of War: Civil War• Refers to war between…

– U.S. Civil War of the 1860s -– El Salvador in the 1980s –

• May often be among the most brutal wars• __________ million deaths from 1945 to 1999

– Compared to ________ million deaths for interstate wars

• Last _________ years on average– Compared to ____________ months for interstate

wars

Types of War: Guerrilla War• Includes certain types of civil wars; is warfare

without front lines• Irregular forces operate in the midst of, and

often hidden or protected by, civilian populations.

• Purpose:

The “Ripple Effects” of Civil War

Instances of Civil War Onset, 1946-04

Causes of War: Approaches• The question of why war breaks out can be

approached in different ways.– –

• Broad generalizations about the causes of war have been _________________.

• Wars do not have a single or simple cause.• Levels of analysis can help us organize theories

of war.

Causes of War: Individual & Domestic Explanations

• Individual level of analysis: – Rational decisions of leaders:

– Deviations from rationality:

• The domestic level of analysis:

Causes of War: Interstate Explanations

• Interstate level:

– Power transition theory:

– Deterrence:

– Arms race:

– No general formula has been discovered to tell us in what circumstances each of these principles holds true.

Causes of War: Global Explanations

• Global level of analysis:

• Several variations on the idea that major warfare in the international system is cyclical.– One approach links wars with long economic waves in the world

economy (~50 years)– Another approach links the largest wars with a 100-year cycle

based on the creation and decay of world orders.• These cycle theories at best can…

• Theory of linear long-term change:

Conflicts of Ideas• Six types of international conflict:

– Conflicts over less/non-tangible material interests:• • •

– Conflicts over tangible material interests:• • •

• Most difficult types of conflict have…

• These identity-based sources of international conflict today have been shaped historically by…

Conflicts over less/non-tangible material interests: Nationalism

• Devotion to the interests of one’s own nation over others– May be the most important force in world politics in

the past two centuries– Nationality is a difficult concept to define precisely.

• Historical development of “nationalism”– Principle of self-determination

Conflicts over less/non-tangible material interests: Ethnic Conflict

• Stems from…• Quite possibly the most important source of conflict in the numerous wars

now occurring throughout the world.• Nationalism tied to territory, often • Ethnic groups:

• Often form the basis for _____________________________• Genocide

– Def: – –

Conflicts over less/non-tangible material interests: Ethnic Conflict

• Causes of ethnic hostility– Kinship: – History: – Ethnocentrism

• • Education can

– Very difficult to solve because it’s very hard to divide anything– Global identity in the future?

Conflicts over less/non-tangible material interests: Religious Conflict

• Because religion is the core of a community’s value system in much of the world, people whose religious practices differ are…

– Fundamentalist movements

– Secular political organizations

Figure 5.3

Table 5.1

Conflicts over less/non-tangible material interests: Ideological Conflict

• Ideology _________________ and _______________conflicts between groups and states more than it causes them.– Because they have a somewhat weaker hold on core

values and absolute truth than religions do, they pose somewhat fewer problems for the international system.

– China Maoist communism in 1949; Russia’s Leninist communism in 1917, U.S. democracy in 1776

– Angola

Conflicts over tangible material interests: Territorial Disputes

• Means of controlling territory – primarily military• Can be (1) ____________________________________ or • (2) __________________________________________

• Change in economies change in territorial conflict:• Old days:

• Modern days:

• Interstate borders• Old days:

• Post-WWII norm: • Little territory has changed hands through force• Most changing of borders has happened peacefully (through ICJ or

World Court mostly)

• Secession (def): • E.g., US civil war; Chechnya, Bosnia-Serbia• Intl norm is against approving of secessionist movements

Conflicts over tangible material interests: Lingering Disputes

• Israel• Israel’s war of independence cease-fire (1948)• Six day war further expansion (1967)• Camp David peace treaty retraction of borders (1978)• Dispute still exists over Gaza Strip (near Egypt), Golan Heights (near Syria), and

West Bank (near Jordan)• Kashmir: India vs. Pakistan• India’s part: inhabited by Muslims (minority in India, majority in Pakistan)• Pakistan’s view: India oppressed Kashmiris, thwarts potential popular

referendum• India’s view: Pakistan aids Islamic radicals, who attack Indian-occupied Kashmir• Nagorno-Karabakh: Armenian-populated territory in Azerbaijan• Crimean peninsula: Russia vs. Ukraine• Many disputes today involve conflicts over tiny (often uninhabitable

islands)

Figure 5.5

Conflicts over tangible material interests: Others

• Territorial waters• UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1973-82)

•

•

• Airspace•

•

Conflicts over tangible material interests: Control of Governments

• Most struggles to control territory do not involve _________________________.

• They are conflicts over which governments will ________________________.

• International conflicts over the control of governments – along with territorial disputes – are likely to lead to...

Conflicts over tangible material interests: Economic Conflict

• Most pervasive form of conflict in IR; in a global capitalist market, all economic exchanges involve some conflict of interests

• Conflict

• Mercantilism:

• Lateral pressure theory:

• Drug trafficking: