Issues of War & Peace

Poli334

Spring 2008

The Basics

Reading:

Richard K. Betts. 2008. Conflict after the Cold War: Arguments on Causes of War and Peace, 3rd Edition.

ISBN: 0-205-58352-0

The Basics

• Requirements– Midterm exam

• take home• due around spring break

– Final exam• in class• 12 May at 7:00 p.m.

The Basics

• Research Project– Oral presentation to the class– 10-15 page written report – Topics due by early February– Outlines by March– Final copies early May

Overview

• International Political System• War

– Causes– Types– Strategy– Weapons and Tactics

• Peace

International Political System

• Basic political unit– State

• Other Actors– IGOs

• international orgs• multinational orgs

– NGOs• interest groups• corporations• political organizations

International Political System

• Basic feature– anarchic “self help” system– implication?

• No formal institutional means to prevent conflict• No formal institutional means to resolve conflict

and that in turn means…

Warfare ismuch morelikely to occur.

That is, withoutany real meansto promote andprotect peace,world politics ismuch more violent than itsdomesticcounterpart.

International Political System

• So we can prevent war by changing the international political system

• If international politics were more like domestic politics, violence would occur, but be much more manageable, right?

Causes of War

• We’ll study a series of explanations offered to explain why wars occur, including:

Causes of War

• Biological and social evolutionary theories– non human primate

studies– “primitive” warfare

Causes of War

• Culture– beliefs, values,

norms shape how we act

– in group/out group oppositions

Causes of War

• Economic Interests• Scarcity fuels

competition, competition -- in conditions of anarchy -- generates conflict

Causes of War

• Ideology– promote and

defend political, cultural, moraletc., ideals

Types of War

• “Conventional”• Non Conventional

– Guerrilla– Insurgency– Civil– Nuclear– Chemical/Biological– Computer

Peace

• Ending War• Sources of Contention

• Energy• Water• Food• Land• Immigration• Ideologies• Religion• …

Peace plans…