An intro to war as a concept

1. What is War?

3. Key questions
 Why is Security dilemma an ironic fact of
international relations?
 Why is there war?
 When is a war ‘just’? How can we we justify war?
 How is insecurity managed in the world of the
liberals?
 How are the realist approaches to managing
insecurity different from those of the liberals?
 What are the new threats to international
security?

4. Security Dilemma
‘Striving to attain security from attack, states
are driven to acquire more and more power in
order to escape the power of others. This, in
turn, renders the others nore insecure and
compels them to prepare for the worst. Since
none can feel entirely secure in such a world of
competing units, power competition ensues,
and the vicious circle of security and power
accumulation is on.’
- John Hertz

5. Security dilemma war?
 14,500 armed struggles in history
 3.5 billion people killed directly or indirectly
 Security dilemma explains why states are
insecure, but doesn’t explain why wars break
out
 Kenneth Waltz in Man, the State, and War says
that the international system is the primary
framework of international relations, including
wars. But the same system also leads to
absence of war (peace), so one needs to look at
other levels of analysis to explain the causes of
war

6. Causes of War:
Waltz three levels of analysis
 The individual:
 State and society:
 The international
system:
 Aggressive characteristics of leaders;
Misperception: Attributes of masses;
Communication failure
 Radicals Liberal states;
domestic politics; scapegoating;
group struggles for resources;
ethnic issues, etc
 Anarchy; lack of arbiter: power
institutions; aggressive international
capitalist class, etc

7. The Changing Character of Warfare
 Prehistoric times: Clubs, rocks, bands of tribes
 Ancient times: Swords, shields, arrows, cavlary, chariots
 Medieval times: Forts, castles, gunpowder, canons
 18th century: Rise of profesional armies, naval warfare
 World War 1: Trench warfare, chemicals, tanks, aircrafts,
machine guns, submarine
 World War 2: blitzkreig, strategic bombardment,
introduction of N-weapons
 Cold War: N-standoff, ICBMs
 1991-present: precision weapons and dilevery technology,
increased focus on technology and communication,
miniaturization of weapons, de-emphasis on N-weapons

8. Historical trends in War
 Increase in costs; decrease in casualty rates among
combatants; increase in civilian deaths (90% civilians
today)
 Increase in spread to additional belligerents and area
covered
 Increase in low-intensity conflicts (LICs) since WW2
 Increase in asymmetrical wars
 Increase in relgiously inspired armed conflicts since Israeli
occupation of Arab lands in 1967
 Use of child soilders, technology, private/mercenaries
armies

9. Justifications for wars
Wars are waged by rational people, for particular aims.....
O Biological: Since ancient Greek times; Social Darwinism (criticism:
true only for biological world, not social world)
O Social/political: ‘War prevents a corruption of nations which a
perpetual, let alone an eternal peace would produce’ (Hegel),
revolutionary wars, wars of liberations/independence, etc
O Social justice: ‘I am for peace, but not peace with hunger’ (A central
American peasant), peace might mean maintaining the status quo
which suits wealthy, powerful states (a.ka. US & West Europe)
O Political ideologies & militarism: Conservatism, Thomas Hobbes;
Doctrines of Balance of Power, Peace through Strength, National
Security, Realpolitik

10. ‘War is continuation of politics by
other means.’ (Carl von Clausewitz;
1780-1831)
 Deliberate infliction of suffering and death on
other people

11. Types of wars
 General war
 Limited War
 Civil war
 Asymmetric war
 Multiple parties, for territory, total
war including military and civilians
 Limited objectives: Korea, Vietnam,
Gulf Wars, Afghanistan, etc
 Within a state but can have
international ramifications; 1990s –
195 civil wars; identity; Africa most
common;
 Unequal parties; use of guerrilla
tactics; Vietnam, Mujahideen against
the Soviets; terrorism

12. More on wars...
O Civil war
O Conventional warfare
O Blitzkreig
O Total war
O Hegemonic war
O Guerrilla war
O Armed conflict within state
O Regular, uniformed,
national military; Non-N
O Lightening
O All aspects of society, total
victory
O To establish dominance of
entire world order by
restructuring global balance
of power
O Irregular troops, hit n run

13. Debate question:
Is religious fundamentalism the next great threat
to international security?
O Yes O No

14. Approaches to managing
security
O Liberal
O International institutions
coordinate actions to manage
power/security
O Rely on arms control and
disarmament
O Collective security
O Realist
O Reliance on force or threat of
force to manage
power/security
O Balance of power
O Deterrence

15. Assumptions
O Collective security
 Wars are prevented by restraint
of military action
 Aggressors must be stopped
 Aggressor is easily identified
 Aggressor is always wrong
 Aggressor knows the
international community will
act against them
O Deterrence
 Decision makers are rational
 The threat of destruction from
warfare is large
 Alternatives to war are
available

16. Changing concept of security
 Traditional view: protection from an external, armed
attack or internal subversion (national security)
 Contemporary view: ecompasses economic & social
well being, respect for human rights,
literacy/education, health care/protection from
diseases, as well as security of a non-toxic
environment (Human security)
 But finally………….

18. Has military power become redundant
in global politics?
Yes No
O Trade and interdependence
makes it not viable option
O Costs more?? Unpredictable?
O MAD
O Trend towards democracy
O New security challenges like
terrorism
O Civil wars, HI on the rise
O Multi polar world
O Cyberwar, technology
O Good as a backup to
diplomacy

19. Is war inevitable?

20. How to stop Russia?
O http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/ame
ricas-secret-weapon-stop-russia-10154
O Discussion question: Do you agree with the
suggestions made in the article by the
author?

21. What is a hybrid war?
O Hybrid warfare is a military strategy that blends
conventional warfare, irregular warfare and
cyberwarfare. In addition, hybrid warfare is used to
describe attacks by nuclear, biological and chemical
weapons, improvised explosive devices and
information warfare.
O http://www.stripes.com/news/saceur-allies-must-
prepare-for-russia-hybrid-war-1.301464
O http://www.nato.int/docu/review/2015/Also-in-
2015/hybrid-modern-future-warfare-russia-
ukraine/EN/

22. In-class assignment
O Read the articles on Hybrid wars, and
answer the followings:
O Is ‘Hybrid war’ the new face of warfare?
O What are the possible ways to tackle this
problem?

23. Possible questions
O Who benefits from conflict and how?
O Critically analyse the notion of structural violence. Is it a useful
way of understanding conflict?
O What role do culture and history play in causing violent
conflict?
O Are human beings “naturally” violent?
O Why are men more violent than women?
O Defend the claim that conflict is caused by
a) an analysis of its possible costs and benefits
or
b) a perceived sense of deprivation
O How does a crisis become a war?
O What is the impact of long-term trends in international
relations on the likelihood of large-scale conflict?