The Evolution of armed conflicts

The Evolution of Armed Conflicts

Daniel Ossai

300078734

ECH 1100

10/21/20

The Evolution of Armed Conflicts

Introduction

Armed conflicts are a growing concern in terms of international and national peace. In an armed conflict, two parties use their forces against each other and of these two parties, one of the forces involved is pro government. The Syrian war, the War of Terror, and the cold war is an example of Armed conflict. The Syrian war is ongoing, Starting in March 2011, it is a part of the Arab Winter and Arab Spring. According to the United States it is the worst "man-made" disaster and it began when the Syrian protesters demanded the resignation of their president. Almost four hundred thousand people have died in the Syrian war till date and this war has destroyed the infrastructure and economy of Syria.

There are a Few variables that have played a role in the evolution of armed conflict since the end of the second world war, such as technology, social and political structure, motives of protagonists, and spatial context. The internet, improved sensors, broadband connectivity, drones, video camera phones, and small satellites transform politics and war have also played their role in changing the nature of armed conflict as these technologies help the forces to find and strike the target from a long distance. The purpose of the paper is to describe the evolution of armed conflicts, and how warfare is changing.

Evolution of armed conflicts since the end of the Second World War

Before the second world war, people were killed, and there are no rights for human beings. At that time, the nature of war was different compared to the now. In 1945, the wars were fought between the superpowers. These parties fought for reasons such as expansion, and world domination, the scale and nature were distinct. However, now the nature and scale for war are different. After 1945 the wars were more ideological and the superpowers “helped out”, examples of these wars are the Vietnam war and the Angolan war. We began to see the introduction of proxy wars where two state or non state actors act on the instigation of a party that is not directly involved in the hostilities. These armed conflicts are as a result of the poor condition of the economy, "repressive" political system, ethnic diversity, and decomposition of resources that can further be re-used. When the country's economic condition is stable, then no other state tries to use its forces against them. However, when the economic condition is not stable, other countries try to use their armed forces against them. After 1945 wars became more political and a key cause of this is as a result of the growing emphasis on fundamental human rights and the cropping up of non governmental bodies that had the sole aim of protecting these rights.

Armed conflicts force people to migrate, inevitably giving room to problems related to refuge and this ultimately influences the infrastructure of the country. For instance, armed conflict in Syria destroyed the nations infrastructure and economy. As a result, Investors do not want to invest in Syria because of the armed conflict. Three examples of armed conflicts are the Syrian war, the War of Terror, and the Cold war. The war of terror is a "Global War," and it is on terrorism. This war championed by the united states of America began after the September 11 attack on the world Trade centre that saw the loss of nearly 3,000 lives. However, The most affected countries by the war of terror are Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Middle East.

Causes of Armed Conflict

Causes of armed conflicts include the poor conditions of a nation's economy, a "repressive" political system, ethnic diversity, and decomposition of resources that can further be re-used. The first cause is the "low condition of the economy". It is a significant cause of armed conflicts in our present era . Poor economic condition simply means the country's "gross national product" is low. When the growth of the economy is low, it causes the government to borrow resources from other countries. However, borrowing debt obligates the government to follow the other country's policy/rules, this ultimately gives room for nations such as America to instigate conflict in promising developing countries as they aim to pursue their own interest. The second cause of armed conflict is a "repressive political system". A repressive political system refers to where states use force to control the citizens for their political reasons, the goal is often to prevent the citizen from taking part in politics which is a fundamental human right. The best example of a repressive political system is "India and Kashmir". The Indian government controls the Kashmir locals, prohibiting them from taking part in political life. The government of India is torturing the people of Kashmir and violating human rights. The third cause of armed conflict is "ethnic diversity". Ethnicity refers to the national traditions or specific culture, whereas ethnic diversity refers to the coexistence of different ethnic identities and backgrounds. The United States is an example of ethnic diversity because people who live in the United States have different ethnic identities and backgrounds. Ethnic diversity causes internal armed conflict. Some ethnic groups are more likely to be discriminated against or unjustly apprehended by the government merely because of their ethnicity. The fourth cause of armed conflict is the "decomposition of resources that can further be re-used". Deforestation, water scarcity, and soil erosion can also contribute to armed conflict. Moreover, the growth of the population and climate change is affected by deforestation, water scarcity, and soil erosion. When water scarcity in a country increases then, that ultimately leads the state into armed conflicts. In Addition, The central cause of armed conflict is "political system and economic condition". When the country's economic condition is stable, then no other state tries to use their arms against them (Gleditsch, 2015).

Change in warfare

In world war 2, strategic bombing was used on populations as we saw the introduction of nuclear weapons in warfare. Thousands of people died in the second world war. Some died as a result of starvation, and others died from the bombing but the bulk of casualties were the armed forces and troops that were at war. It started in 1939 and ended in 1945. The nature of warfare was very distinct from now. Recent wars are more intrastate rather than Interstate, they are often driven by ethnic and religious tension , The casualties in the wars are mostly civilians and these wars usually take place in developing countries or failed states. Other factors that influenced change in warfare are; The internet, improved sensors, broadband connectivity, drones, video camera phones, and small satellites transform politics and war. On one end of the spectrum these technologies help the forces to find and strike the target from a long distance. However, on the other end of the spectrum technology has equipped people with knowledge on foreign affairs and has helped nations educate themselves on these issues. The media has also played a vital role in giving knowledge to those who have less information. For instance, the Syrian war is an example of warfare in nature. It is the "worst" disaster after the second world war made by "man".

Conclusion

In summary, Armed conflicts have significantly evolved from what we were familiar with before 1945 as a result of factors such as technology, social and political structure, motives of protagonists, and spatial context. Many developed nations would rather not go to war because of the effects that warfare has on economies and International reputation. Nations now have too much to lose, Intergovernmental bodies such as the UN and the International criminal court that were set up post ww2 are active players in settling conflicts. Whereas before the second world war, people were killed, and there was no regard for the rights for human beings, this is not so in this new era of conflict where perpetrators of war crimes are made to face severe consequences. In this new era conflict, wars are more intrastate rather than Interstate and they are often driven by ethnic and religious tension. The cause of armed conflict is mainly as a result of the political system and economic condition. When the country's economic condition is stable, then no other state tries to use their arms against them.

References

Gleditsch, N. P. (2015). Armed Conflict and the Environment. Pioneer in the Analysis of War and Peace, 81-103.

Kendra Dupuy, S. A. (2018). Trends in Armed Conflict, 1946-2017. Conflict Trends, 1-4.

Newman, E. (2004). The "New Wars" Debate: A Historical Perspective Is Needed. Security Dialogue, 173-187.

Thornton, R. (2015). The Changing Nature of Modern Warfare Responding to Russian Information Warfare. Warfare in the Information Age, 40-48.