WAR

The Definition of War from Various Perspectives, Its Types and Current Major Trends in War and Conflict



The Definition of War from Various Perspectives, Its Types and Current Major Trends in War and Conflict

Introduction

The world continues to be under the constant threat of war even after the advent of the 21st century. However, studies undertaken by the Human Security Centre (2005) indicate a noticeable decrease in violence in terms of wars, genocides and human rights violations. Presently major war zones of the world include Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Sudan and Chechnya where new and old conflicts of various kinds remain unresolved. Previously faced with the threat of just interstate wars i.e. wars between two states e.g. India and Pakistan over their long standing dispute over Kashmir, countries now are faced with the increasingly challenging task of preventing intrastate wars. Genocides in Sudan and Rwanda are evidence of armed conflict with deadly consequences and proof of the fact that the security of mankind remains to be a challenge. Outbreak of violence in Somalia and Angola and the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo are a few examples of unexpected and tragic events that took place in this century. However, ethnic groups, clans and factions are themselves a challenge to the state and interstate warfare seems to have been replaced by its ethno-political counterpart. Therefore, complete evolution in the phenomenon of war has taken place in modern times and it would not be wrong to state that the terms conflict and war have taken on a new meaning altogether.

Discussion

Definition of War

Wright (1942) described war as a violent contact occurring between distinct but similar entities. Clausewitz et al. (2008) defined war as “an act of violence intended to compel our opponent to fulfill our will”. War has also been characterized as a continuation of politics using other means (Clausewitz et al., 2008). Keegan (1994) stated in his book “Hisory of Warfare” that war is a global phenomena. He continued to state that its scope and form are defined by the society waging the war.

In essence, an armed confrontation between enemies with opposing political goals is what war is all about. It can be further characterized by the continuous efforts aimed to attain absolute victory and destruction of the enemy outlines. Another dimension to war is the fact that it is an organized process. Bouthoul (1963), expert on war, emphasized on this facet of war by stating that “war is (an) armed and bloody struggle between organized groups”. Premeditated acts of violence, which are backed by antagonistic motives and conducted and organized by military and political actors, is what war is all about from a realist's point of view. The military and political actors may be either infra-national or supranational entities. Two prominent schools of thought on this subject are realist theorists and critical theorists. Critical theorists are of the opinion that manipulation of identity by political entrepreneurs and decision makers is the foundation of war. Realist theorists, on the other hand, believe that ...