War

Several terms redirect here. For other uses, see War (disambiguation), Wars (disambiguation), Warring (disambiguation), Warfare (disambiguation) and Conflict zone (disambiguation).

War is a big fight between groups, often between countries or governments and their armies. It usually involves violence and can damage homes and force families to leave to find safety. People often go to war for reasons like wanting more land, solving problems, or gaining control over resources.

Throughout history, war has looked very different. Long ago, battles were fought with swords and spears. Later, armies used guns and cannons. In the 1900s, wars included huge battles with many soldiers and weapons that could cause great destruction.

Even though some types of big wars between powerful countries have happened less often since 1945, other kinds of wars, especially those within countries, have become more common. Rules about how wars should be fought have also developed to try to protect people who are not fighting.

Etymology

The word "war" comes from old languages. In Old English, words like wyrre and werre were used. These came from Old French werre, which is similar to the modern French word guerre. The root of this word traces back to an ancient Frankish term *werra, meaning mix-up or confusion. It is also linked to words in Old Saxon and Old High German, and even modern German.

History

Main article: Military history

Historians are not sure if fighting between groups happened a long time ago or if it began later, maybe when people started farming or living in bigger groups. It is hard to know because there are not many old remains. Some think early groups lived together peacefully, doing things like hunting. Signs of fighting between groups seem to grow around 10,000 years ago.

Some researchers say that most societies in history had some kind of fighting, big or small. They talk about different kinds of early battles, like small surprise attacks or bigger ones. These fights were not very organized because people did not have special training. Without enough resources, building strong defenses was not always easy.

Over the last 5,000 years, as countries formed, fighting continued around the world. In Europe, one of the oldest battlefields found dates back to around 1250 BC. The Bronze Age saw more organized fighting and the use of metal weapons like swords. Later times, such as when gunpowder was invented, brought big changes to how wars were fought.

One historian suggests that wars helped create countries, and countries, in turn, kept having wars. Since 1945, big wars between countries have become less common, and laws have been created to limit how wars are fought. Though battles have become less deadly thanks to better medical care, some types of wars, like civil wars, have actually increased.

Types of warfare

Main article: Types of war

Different kinds of wars exist, each with unique ways and goals. Asymmetric warfare happens when forces with very different strengths fight. Biological warfare uses germs like bacteria or viruses as weapons. Chemical warfare uses poisonous chemicals in battle. Cold warfare is strong rivalry between countries without direct fighting, often involving secret operations or economic pressure. Conventional warfare is fighting between nations without using nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons. Cyberwarfare targets a country's computer systems to cause damage. Insurgency is when people rise up against a government, sometimes using hidden forces. Information warfare attacks computer networks that support important systems like power grids. Nuclear warfare uses powerful atomic weapons. Radiological warfare spreads harmful radiation to harm areas. Total war means using every possible method to fight, which can greatly affect ordinary people. Unconventional warfare includes secret operations, sabotage, or guerrilla tactics to weaken an enemy.

Aims

When groups think about starting or ending a war, they may create war aims. These are the things they hope to achieve by winning.

War aims can be things like land, money, or other benefits a group wants after winning a war.

War aims can be different types:

• Tangible aims are clear goals, like taking land or getting special trade rights (as in the Anglo-Dutch Wars).
• Intangible aims are less clear but still important, like building a good reputation.
• Explicit aims are announced publicly.
• Implicit aims are understood but not said out loud.
• Positive aims are specific things wanted, while negative aims are things a group wants to avoid.

War aims can change during a conflict and may become the conditions needed for peace.

Effects

Main article: Effects of war

Conflict zones

When there is a war, some places become dangerous areas called conflict zones. Life in these areas can be very hard, and it might be difficult to travel there. Sometimes, people are told to leave these places to stay safe.

Casualties

The number of people who die in wars can be very different depending on how you count. For very old wars, the numbers are not exact. For wars from a long time ago until 1991, the numbers vary a lot.

Largest wars by death toll

Main article: List of wars by death toll

The war with the most deaths was World War II, from 1939 to 1945. Many people died in this war. Another big war was the Mongol conquests, which also caused many deaths. Wars can damage buildings, hurt the environment, and make it hard for people to get the things they need.

On military personnel

People who fight in wars can get hurt, sick, or sometimes die. Many also feel very upset because of the hard times during war.

On civilians

See also: Civilian casualties

In wars, many ordinary people can get hurt or die. Buildings and things we need, like food and water, can be destroyed. This can make life very hard for families. People who see war can be deeply affected for a long time.

Economic

See also: Military Keynesianism

After a war ends, the side that loses may have to give money to the winners. Sometimes, land is taken away. War can hurt a country's money and economy. For example, after World War I, the Russian economy was weakened a lot.

World War II

World War II cost a lot of money. By the end of the war, many factories and buildings in Europe were destroyed. Many places in the Soviet Union were damaged or destroyed.

Theories of motivation

See also: International relations theory

There are many ideas about why wars happen, but no clear agreement on the most common reasons. Military thinker Carl von Clausewitz once said, "Every age has its own kind of war, its own limits, and its own special ideas."

Psychoanalytic

Dutch thinker Joost Meerloo believed that "War is often...a way to release built-up anger inside (where)...deep fears are released in mass destruction." Other thinkers have argued that humans have a natural tendency toward aggression. This aggression is directed toward others because of feelings of unfairness or anger toward different races, religions, nations, or ideologies. Some believe that nations help keep order in society but also give people a way to express aggression through fighting.

The Italian thinker Franco Fornari thought war was a way to deal with sadness. He believed war and violence come from our need to protect and defend what we love, like our early family ties. For adults, nations become these sacred objects that lead to warfare. Fornari focused on the idea of sacrifice as the core of war: the amazing willingness of people to die for their country.

Despite these ideas, most wars do not start because people want them. Often, the general public is pulled into war by leaders. One theory suggests that wars happen when leaders, who may not care as much about human life, come to power. Such leaders often rise during times of crisis and then lead nations into war.

Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship. ... the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.

— Hermann Göring at the Nuremberg trials, 18 April 1946

Evolutionary

See also: Prehistoric warfare

Some theories look at why warfare might have started from an evolutionary point of view. There are two main ideas: One sees organized warfare beginning in or after the Mesolithic period because of complex social structures and more people competing for resources; the other sees human warfare as an older practice coming from natural behaviors shared with animals, like defending territory or competing for mates.

The second idea argues that since warlike behaviors are seen in many animal species such as chimpanzees, as well as in many ant species, group conflict might be a general feature of animal social behavior. Some who support this idea argue that while war is natural, it has become much stronger because of technology and social organizations such as weapons and states.

Psychologist and language expert Steven Pinker argued that behaviors related to war may have been helpful for survival in the past because they offered advantages. He also argued that to have believable deterrence against other groups (and even on an individual level), it was important to have a reputation for taking revenge, causing humans to develop instincts for revenge as well as for protecting a group's (or an individual's) reputation ("honor").

Crofoot and Wrangham have argued that warfare, if defined as group interactions in which "groups try to dominate or harm members of other groups", is a feature of most human societies.

Ashley Montagu strongly disagreed with ideas that war is natural, arguing that social factors and how children are raised are important in deciding the nature and presence of warfare. He argues that warfare is not a universal human thing and seems to have been invented at a certain point in history, linked to specific types of societies. Montagu's view is supported by research in societies where the idea of aggression seems completely absent, like the Chewong and Semai of the Malay peninsula.

Economic

See also: Resource war

War can also be seen as growing out of economic competition in a world where countries compete. In this view, wars start because countries seek control over natural resources and wealth. War has also been linked to economic development by experts who study how states are built and manage their money.

Marxist

Main article: Marxist explanations of warfare

The Marxist theory of war is partly economic. It says that all modern wars happen because of competition for resources and markets between powerful (imperialist) countries, claiming these wars are a natural result of capitalism. Marxist thinkers Karl Kautsky, Rosa Luxemburg, Rudolf Hilferding and Vladimir Lenin argued that imperialism happens because capitalist countries need new markets.

Demographic

Demographic theories can be divided into two types: Malthusian and youth bulge theories:

Malthusian

Malthusian theories see growing populations and limited resources as a cause of violent conflict. Pope Urban II in 1095, just before the First Crusade, spoke about the Crusade as a way to address European overpopulation.

This is one of the earliest expressions of what is now called the Malthusian theory of war, where wars happen because populations grow and resources are limited. Thomas Malthus (1766–1834) wrote that populations always grow until they are limited by war, disease, or famine.

Youth bulge

According to Heinsohn, who created youth bulge theory, a youth bulge happens when 30 to 40 percent of the males in a country are in the "fighting age" group from 15 to 29 years old.

Cultural

Geoffrey Parker argues that what makes the "Western way of war" successful is based mainly in Western Europe and explains its success in conquering much of the world after 1500:

Parker argues that Western armies were stronger because they focused on discipline, which means "the ability of a group to stay strong when facing the enemy, whether they are attacking or being attacked, without giving in to the natural feelings of fear and panic."

Rationalist

See also: Bargaining model of war

Rationalism is a way of thinking about international relations. Rationalism (and Neorealism (international relations)) assumes that countries or international groups act in ways that are best for them and want to avoid the costs of war.

Political science

The study of war using statistics was started by Lewis Fry Richardson after World War I. More recent collections of data on wars and armed conflict have been made by the Correlates of War Project, Peter Brecke and the Uppsala Conflict Data Program.

System-level

There are several different schools of thought in international relations. Supporters of realism in international relations argue that the goal of countries is to be secure, and conflicts can happen because it is hard to tell whether one country is defending itself or trying to attack, which is called the security dilemma.^: 145 

Societal-level

• Diversionary theory, also known as the "scapegoat hypothesis", suggests that leaders may use war to distract people or to gain support at home.^: 152 

Individual-level

These theories say that differences in people's personalities, decisions, emotions, beliefs, and thinking errors are important in deciding whether conflicts become bigger.

Ethics

People have talked about whether war is right or wrong for thousands of years.

There are two main ideas about ethics in war: jus ad bellum and jus in bello. Jus ad bellum looks at when it is okay for a country to start a war. There are six main rules: the country must be a proper authority, the reason must be serious, the goal must be good, there must be a good chance of winning, war must be the last choice, and the actions must match the goal.

Jus in bello is about how to act during war. There are two main rules: using the right amount of force and only fighting certain people. Using the right amount of force means not using more power than needed. Only fighting certain people means only fighting soldiers, not harmless people. Following these rules helps keep war fair and legal.

Limiting and stopping

Main article: Anti-war movement

Many religions teach that war is wrong. Some Christian leaders have said that destroying cities and people is always bad.

People have created groups to try to stop wars. These groups started in big wars like World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War. Lately, many people have protested against wars, like the United States invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq. These protests happened in many places, such as Europe, Asia, and the United States.

Pauses

Main articles: Ceasefire and Armistice

During a war, the groups fighting may agree to pauses. A ceasefire is when both sides stop fighting for a while. This often happens because a third party helps them talk. Ceasefires can be part of a formal treaty or just an informal agreement.

The main goal of a ceasefire is to stop violence right away. Ceasefires can help meet needs like allowing help to reach people in need or making the conflict less harmful. Sometimes, a group may use a ceasefire to rest and regroup, which can cause problems.