War

This section describes war as "an organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict that is carried out between states, nations, or other parties". Because of the potential for chaos, suffering, and destruction, war is a critical concept in the study of international relations. Pay close attention to the different types of war described in this section.

Learning Objective

Recall three possible outcomes of a civil war

 

Key Points

  • War entails confrontations with weapons, military technology, or equipment used by armed forces who employ military tactics and operational art within the broad categories of military strategy and military logistics.
  • Warfare refers to the set of techniques used by a group to carry out war.
  • Nuclear warfare is warfare in which nuclear weapons are the primary method of coercing the capitulation of the other side, as opposed to the supporting role nuclear weaponry might take in a more conventional war.
  • Where evenly matched adversaries decide that the conflict has resulted in a stalemate, they may cease hostilities to avoid further loss of life and property.
  • Negotiations between parties involved at the end of a war often result in a treaty.
  • Some hostilities, such as insurgency or civil war, may persist for long periods of time with only a low level of military activity.
  • Negotiations between parties involved at the end of a war often result in a treaty.
  • Some hostilities, such as insurgency or civil war, may persist for long periods of time with only a low level of military activity.

 

Terms

  • Treaty: A binding agreement under international law concluded by subjects of international law, namely states and international organizations.
  • Civil war: A war fought between factions of the inhabitants of a single country, or the citizens of a single republic.
  • Insurgency: Rebellion; revolt; the state of being insurgent

War is an organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict that is carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional, and widespread armed conflict between political communities, and it is defined as a form of political violence.

War entails confrontations with weapons, military technology, or equipment used by armed forces who employ military tactics and operational art within the broad categories of military strategy and military logistics. War studies by military theorists have sought to identify the philosophy of war and to reduce it to a military science. Conventional warfare is an attempt to reduce an opponent's military capability through open battle. Conventional war is declared between existing states in which nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons are not used, or they only see limited deployment in support of conventional military goals and maneuvers. Nuclear warfare is warfare in which nuclear weapons are the primary method of coercing the capitulation of the other side, as opposed to the supporting role nuclear weaponry might take in a more conventional war.

The political and economic circumstances of peace following a war are highly situational – post-war political and economic realities can not be forecasted. When evenly adversaries decide that a conflict has resulted in a stalemate, they may cease hostilities to avoid further loss of life and property. They may decide to restore the pre-war territorial boundaries, redraw boundaries at the line of military control, or negotiate to keep or exchange captured territory. Negotiations between parties involved at the end of a war often result in treaties, such as the Treaty of Versailles of 1919, which ended the First World War.

Some hostilities, such as insurgency or civil war, may persist for long periods of time with a low level of military activity. In some cases, a treaty is never reached, but fighting may trail off and eventually stop after the political demands of the belligerent groups have been reconciled, a political settlement has been negotiated, the combatants are gradually killed or decide the conflict is futile, or the belligerents cease active military engagement but still threaten each other.

Battle of Ravena (1512)

The Battle of Ravenna, where France defeated the Spaniards on Easter Sunday in 1512.


Source: Boundless
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Last modified: Tuesday, September 29, 2020, 4:53 PM