what is War? Reasons and types of War in international relation

1. War
Introduction to International
Relations

2. war
• War is the oldest, most prevalent, and most salient
issue in international relations.
• Attention to war and security is necessary: security
comes first in international relations; all other
competing values such as human rights, the
environment, and economic development presuppose
security.
• Although 3.5 billion have died in the 14,500 armed
struggles throughout history, the number and intensity
of war has dropped by one-half since 1991.
• International relations theorists disagree over the
inevitability of war.

3. Types of War
• Interstate wars: wars between two or more states. In the past
these were the focus of most research. They are the easiest to study
and have caused the most damage.
• Intrastate wars: wars between groups within a state, with or
without international participation. While the number of ongoing
intrastate wars has declined, the decline has been less precipitous
than the decline in interstate wars.
• Total war: Wars involving multiple great powers. Total wars
include significant destruction and loss of life. Since the end of
World War II, total wars have become less frequent; the number of
countries participating in total wars has fallen, and they tend to last
for shorter lengths of time This has led some to argue that this type
of war is obsolete.
• Limited war: the objective is not surrender and occupation of
enemy territory, but rather to attain limited goals. The Korean War,
the Gulf War, and conflicts in Sudan and Sierra Leone are examples
of limited war.

4. Reasons for War
• Profit/Economic
• Faith and identity
• Revolution
Theoretical reasons include:
• Waltz- War is hard-wired into the structure of the international
system we inhabit
• Organski- War occurs when a Power transition shift is underway
from one power to another rising power
• Stoessinger- War occurs due to miscalculation, misperception,
overestimation of one’s own capability, underestimation of costs to
carry the fight through to a end
• Lebow- War take place due to fear, interest, standing, revenge

5. Just war tradition
• Jus ad bellum: the justice of entering into a war.
• Jus in bello: the justice of how a war is fought.
• Just war tradition
Just war theory asserts that there are several criteria that can
make the decision to go to war a just one:
1. The cause must be just (self defense or massive violation of
human rights), with a declaration of intent.
2. Leader needs to have the correct intentions.
3. Leader should desire to end abuses and establish a just peace.
4. Nation should have exhausted all other possibilities for ending
the abuse.
5. Forces must be removed rapidly after the abuses have ended.

6. Just war tradition
Just war tradition also addresses conduct in war:
1. Combatants and noncombatants must be differentiated.
2. The violence used needs to be proportionate to the ends to be achieved.
• Just war is an evolving practice, changing as broader ideas about war
change.