War

What Is War? A Deeper Dive into the Nature of Conflict

War is an armed conflict between states or groups with military capabilities. It’s characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality. But have you ever wondered where the term ‘war’ comes from? The English word “war” stems from Old English words related to confusion and mixing. This etymology hints at the chaotic nature of war itself.

The earliest evidence of prehistoric warfare dates back 13,400 years, with approximately 90-95% of known societies engaging in at least occasional warfare since the rise of states around 5,000 years ago. This raises a profound question: why do humans engage in such destructive behavior?

Types and Motivations of Warfare

Warfare can be categorized into various types, each with its own characteristics. Asymmetric warfare involves conflicts between belligerents with different military capabilities. Biological warfare uses infectious agents or toxins against people, plants, or animals. Chemical warfare involves the use of weaponized chemicals in combat. Cold warfare is an intense international rivalry without direct military conflict.

Conventional warfare, on the other hand, involves non-nuclear conflicts between states. Cyberwarfare, insurgency, information warfare, nuclear warfare, radiological warfare, total war, and unconventional warfare are also types of warfare with different characteristics. Each type of warfare has its own unique challenges and implications for society.

War Aims: The Goals Behind the Conflict

War aims can be classified into tangible, intangible, explicit, implicit, positive, and negative categories. Tangible war aims involve acquiring territory or economic concessions. Intangible war aims include accumulating credibility or reputation. Explicit war aims may involve published policy decisions, while implicit war aims can take the form of minutes, memoranda, and instructions.

Positive war aims cover tangible outcomes, whereas negative war aims forestall or prevent undesired outcomes. Understanding these aims is crucial for comprehending why wars start and how they evolve over time.

The Impact of War on Society

Military and civilian casualties from war have fluctuated relatively little throughout history. Major wars, however, result in higher casualty rates. For the period 3000 BCE until 1991, estimates for total deaths due to war range from 151 million to 2 billion. The deadliest war in history is World War II with 70–85 million deaths, followed by the Mongol conquests at up to 60 million.

The Paraguayan War was the most destructive war in modern history in terms of belligerent losses per population. Wars result in significant deterioration of infrastructure and ecosystems, social spending decrease, famine, emigration, and mistreatment of prisoners. The impact on civilians is often devastating, with a medium-sized conflict reducing civilian life expectancy by one year and increasing infant mortality and malnutrition.

The Psychology Behind War

Warfare has been attributed to various psychological theories. Psychoanalytic theories suggest that war is often a mass discharge of accumulated internal rage, with inner fears of mankind discharged in mass destruction. Other psychoanalysts such as E. F. M. Durban and John Bowlby have argued human beings are inherently violent, fueled by displacement and projection where grievances are transferred into bias and hatred against other races, religions, nations or ideologies.

Italian psychoanalyst Franco Fornari thought war developed out of our ‘love need’: the wish to preserve and defend the sacred object to which we are attached, namely our early mother and our fusion with her. Despite these theories, few wars have originated from a desire for war among the general populace. Far more often, the general population is reluctantly drawn into war by its rulers.

Economic Factors in War

Economic factors play a significant role in war, with nations requiring payment of reparations to victorious nations and ceding territory. The Great Depression ended in part due to government spending on World War II. However, most wars result in damage to the economies of the countries involved.

World War II was the most financially costly conflict in history, with belligerents spending over a trillion dollars adjusted for inflation. Property damage and destruction were widespread, affecting 70% of European industrial infrastructure. Economic theories suggest that war is often driven by competition for markets and resources, aligning with Marxist theory which views war as a natural result of capitalism.

The Evolutionary Origins of Warfare

There are two main schools of thought on the origin of warfare: one suggests human warfare is derived from common animal tendencies such as territoriality and sexual competition, while another argues that warlike behavior patterns are found in many primate species, suggesting group conflict may be a general feature of animal social behavior.

Natural selection has played a role in shaping war-related behaviors. Psychologist Steven Pinker argues that war-related behaviors were naturally selected due to the benefits of victory. Crofoot and Wrangham argue that warfare is a characteristic of most human societies, while Ashley Montagu suggests that social factors and childhood socialization play a crucial role in determining the nature of warfare.

The Statistical Analysis of War

Statistical analysis of war was pioneered by Lewis Fry Richardson following World War I. More recent databases have been assembled by the Correlates of War Project, Peter Brecke and the Uppsala Conflict Data Program. These studies provide valuable insights into the patterns and causes of conflict.

Theories on the Motivation for War

Several theories concern the evolutionary origins of warfare. One theory suggests that war is derived from common animal tendencies such as territoriality and sexual competition, while another argues that warlike behavior patterns are found in many primate species, suggesting group conflict may be a general feature of animal social behavior.

Natural selection has played a role in shaping war-related behaviors. Psychologist Steven Pinker argues that war-related behaviors were naturally selected due to the benefits of victory. Crofoot and Wrangham argue that warfare is a characteristic of most human societies, while Ashley Montagu suggests that social factors and childhood socialization play a crucial role in determining the nature of warfare.

The Role of Rationalism in War

Rationalism is an international relations theory or framework that assumes states or international actors are rational and seek the best possible outcomes for themselves. Rationalist theories posit that states can bargain and would be better off if war did not occur, but still engage in war due to issues such as indivisibility, information asymmetry, commitment problems, and cognitive bias.

Issue indivisibility occurs when the thing over which two parties are fighting cannot be shared between them. Information asymmetry with incentives to misrepresent can lead to miscalculation of strength. Commitment problems arise when states’ inability to make credible commitments leads to bargaining failure.

The Morality of War

The morality of war is debated through just war theory, which includes jus ad bellum (right to war) and jus in bello (right in war). The just war theory consists of six criteria for the declaration of a just war and two principles for conduct during war: proportionality and discrimination. Religious groups have formally opposed or sought to limit war, while anti-war movements have existed for every major 20th-century war and continue in response to modern conflicts.

War as an Economic Phenomenon

War can be seen as an economic phenomenon, with conflicts emerging from competition for markets and resources. Marxist theory views war as a natural result of capitalism, where great powers compete for markets and resources. Demographic theories are divided into two classes: Malthusian theories suggest expanding population and scarce resources cause violent conflict, while youth bulge theories argue rapid demographic changes can lead to social unrest and conflict.

The Western Way of War

Geoffrey Parker argues that the Western way of war rests upon five principal foundations: technology, discipline, a highly aggressive military tradition, innovation, and a unique system of war finance. Discipline is key to military success, allowing formations to stand firm in the face of enemy attacks.

The Iraq War and Rationalist Theory

The Iraq War proved to be an anomaly undermining the validity of applying rationalist theory to some wars. The statistical analysis of war was pioneered by Lewis Fry Richardson following World War I, with more recent databases assembled by the Correlates of War Project, Peter Brecke, and the Uppsala Conflict Data Program.

International Relations Theory Schools

There are several international relations theory schools. Realism argues that states’ motivation is security, leading to conflicts from inability to distinguish defense from offense. Two main sub-theories are balance of power theory and power transition theory. Balance of power theory suggests war occurs when a would-be hegemon attempts to acquire power, while power transition theory suggests war happens when a declining hegemon is challenged by another rising power.

Liberalism emphasizes factors such as trade in disincentivizing conflict. Critics argue military force may be effective at achieving economic benefits and that high levels of dependency may escalate tensions leading to conflict. Diversionary theory suggests the politically powerful use war as a diversion to rally domestic popular support, but examining the increased use of force for internal political support is more mixed.

Individual-Level Theories

Individual-level theories suggest differences in people’s personalities, decision-making, emotions, beliefs, and biases affect conflict resolution. The morality of war is debated through just war theory, which includes jus ad bellum (right to war) and jus in bello (right in war). Religious groups have formally opposed or sought to limit war, while anti-war movements have existed for every major 20th-century war and continue in response to modern conflicts.

War as a Catalyst for Change

War can benefit society by creating new equilibriums through opposing forces balancing each other. Brief pauses of violence may be called for during a war, but their implementation is hindered by obstacles and hesitations. Despite the chaos and destruction, wars often lead to significant social changes and shifts in power dynamics.