War
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| A War on War |
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| “ | War is the continuation of politics by other means.[1] | ” |
| —Carl von Clausewitz | ||
Throughout history, whenever a dispute could not be settled peacefully, violence broke out. When enough people were on each side of the violence, it is called a war. Many efforts have been made to either prevent all wars[2] or to mitigate the effects of war.[3] However, wars still occur.
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[edit] Definition
Technically, a war is a large-scale conflict between two groups. However, the exact scale of deaths needed to call something a war is constantly under debate. There are several broad types of wars.
[edit] National war
A national war is a traditional war fought between the armies of two or more states. While irregulars and guerrillas[4] may play a part in such wars, the states are the ones in control.
[edit] Civil war
A civil war is when factions within one nation fight for control. They are usually more dangerous and bloody, as there is often nowhere to retreat in a civil war, and they are usually fought with far greater emotion, so more death and brutality come from them.
[edit] Revolutionary war
Wars of revolution are also usually fought on a country's own territory. Their purpose is to overthrow the existing government structure and replace it with something the revolutionaries think will better serve the people. There are basically two kinds - in one, usually called a war of independence, a country or territory seeks to liberate itself from a colonial or imperial power; in the other, the goal is to overthrow the country's existing independent government.
Examples of the former include the American War of Independence against England, and the Algerian one against France. The latter include the French, Russian, and Cuban revolutions.
As with most wars, the "legitimacy" is definitely in the eye of the beholder - one man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist.
[edit] Religious war
Religious wars are usually civil wars, though they can also be national wars. A religious war is one where the motivation behind the war is specifically religious. The most well-known religious wars were those between the European states and the Islamic empire during the Crusades, or between the Protestant and Catholics sections of Germany during the 30 Years War. Until the 21st century, it seemed that religious wars were on the decline, but many see current United States actions against Iraq and Afghanistan in that light.
[edit] Proxy war
Proxy wars, which became more common during the Cold War, are typically local civil wars where two major powers are backing the combative factions. The best examples of this were Korea and Vietnam. However, proxy national wars also took place, such as the 1980's war between Ethiopia and Somalia.
[edit] Modern adaptations
In today's globalized world, some wars are starting to cross-over between types, where fighters from different states come together in undeclared wars and civil wars spill out past national boundaries. This can be seen most clearly in the struggles between the Soviet Union and Afghanistan in the 1970s, and now in the fighting in Sudan/Chad/etc.
[edit] Footnotes
- ↑ http://www.clausewitz.com/CWZHOME/ECHEVAR/ECHJFQ.htm
- ↑ The creation of the United Nations was supposed to effect this, and deterrence in theory also serves this goal.
- ↑ The Roman Catholic Church passed many laws in the Middle Ages to limit the scope of wars, and many treaties have been signed since to that effect.
- ↑ For example, in Norway and France during World War II there were strong Resistance movements, but overall the Allies and the Axis directed the wars.
