Cause of War

1546 Words4 Pages

In this paper I am going to give an evaluation on why do wars occur using research and personal knowledge. It is important to be able to define the term war before attempting to find out its causes and reasons. Wars have a long history in humanity and I believe it is significant for people to understand the true definition of war and the main causes of the past wars. This could in a sense help the understanding of humanity to the topic of war; it could also prevent future wars. The term war is defined in the oxford dictionary as “A state of armed conflict between different countries or different groups within a country:”, “A state of competition or hostility between different people or groups”, “A sustained campaign against an undesirable situation or activity”. Another more detailed definition of war is defined as a “state of conflict, generally armed, between two or more entities. It is characterized by intentional violence on the part of large bodies of individuals organized and trained for that purpose.” ( http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/War)
There are many reasons or theories as to why do wars actually occur, that is why I have researched and found that the “Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research” has given several main causes of war that seem general but do apply to the past and current wars. These causes are “ideological change, self-determination, national control, resources, territory, control of part of country, control of another country.” These causes are very general, however I find this interesting as I believe that these entire categories can fit into one; change. I believe that speaking in a broader sense, all wars occur due to a change. ...

... middle of paper ...

...on or change. There are wars that are economically driven, wars that are about patriotism and national pride, there are also wars that are simply intent on wiping out ethnicities, religions or races. Yet it is key to understand all of the theories and potential causes to war as one must be able to identify these factors. A change in the balance of powers, individuals want for power, or opposing interests and capabilities can all be seen as causes of war and the reason as to why they occur. Of course people can claim that the assassination of the archduke Franz Ferdinand was the cause of the First World War, Hitler was simply the cause of the Second World War, and these are all very broad and simple answers of why those wars occurred. However I am adamant that all wars occur for a reason and there is no simple explanation. After all, wars are never simple themselves.

Open Document