The decline of war – will it continue? Towards a more peaceful world? Trends in armed conflict...

The decline of war – will it continue?

Towards a more peaceful world? Trends in armed conflict

Lecture at HEI, 22 March 2007Course E 584 Topics in Peace Research

Nils Petter GleditschCentre for the Study of Civil War (CSCW),

International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO)& Department of Sociology & Political Science

Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)


The End of WarNorman Angell (1910): The Great IllusionGaddis (1987): The Long PeaceMueller (1989): The Obsolescence of WarMueller (2006): The Waning of War

• No wars between developed countries during the Cold War• Remarkably few major international wars of any kind since World

War II• The only traditional interstate war since 1975: Iran-Iraq• No major war between Israel and its neighbors since 1973• The remnants of war are largely crime


War Is Not (Necessarily) Waning

Wallensteen (2006): Too early to tell• Prussian War is declining (the two World Wars were atypical)• No war between two Security Council members since the Korean War

(1950– 53) - and there were many proxy wars during the Cold War

• War is waning between industrialized countries - but industrialized countries are not lower in war

participation• There are many regional wars (Middle East, Central Africa in the

1990s)• Many wars still have a global impact

When will we have peace between major powers: when we have cooperative and universalistic relations between major powers


War Is Not Waning

Mearsheimer (1990): Back to the futureHuntington (1993): Clash of CivilizationsGurr (1994): Surge of Ethnopolitical Conflict

- but also Gurr (2000), Ethnic warfare on the waneRice (1993): Wars of the third kindKaldor (1999): New warsMarshall (1999): The Third World WarSarkees, Wayman & Singer (2003): A Disturbing constancy of war

- different types of war peak at different times and must be examined together- war shifts between regions (proxy wars)


A look at the evidence

• Number of wars• Number of battle deaths• Indirect deaths• Number of countries in war• Number of countries at war• Area affected by war• Non-state conflicts• One-sided conflicts• Indirect deaths• Terrorism• A longer time perspective• A very much longer time perspective

• If war is waning – why?


Armed Conflicts in 2005

Countries with conflict on their territory in 2005 (dark brown color), countries with conflict on their territory after the end of the Cold War (light brown color), and the geographical centre of the conflict (red circle). Source: Halvard Buhaug, on the basis of the Uppsala/PRIO conflict data, see www.prio.no/cscw/armedconflict.


Armed conflicts, 1946–2005

Source: Harbom, Högbladh & Wallensteen (2006). For the data, see www.prio.no/cscw/armedconflict.


Armed conflicts, 1946–2005

For the data, see Harbom, Högbladh & Wallensteen (2006) and www.prio.no/cscw/armedconflict. In this figure, the number of conflicts is normalized by the number of independent countries. Figure created by Lars Wilhelmsen.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

19

46

19

48

19

50

19

52

19

54

19

56

19

58

19

60

19

62

19

64

19

66

19

68

19

70

19

72

19

74

19

76

19

78

19

80

19

82

19

84

19

86

19

88

19

90

19

92

19

94

19

96

19

98

20

00

20

02

20

04

Year

Nu

mb

er o

f C

on

flic

ts (

no

rmal

ized

)

Extrasystemic Interstate

Intentationalized Internal


Wars, 1946–2005

Only conflicts with more than 1000 battle deaths in a single year. See Harbom, Högbladh & Wallensteen (2006) and www.prio.no/cscw/armedconflict. In this figure, too, the number of wars is normalized by the number of independent countries. Figure created by Lars Wilhelmsen.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

19

46

19

48

19

50

19

52

19

54

19

56

19

58

19

60

19

62

19

64

19

66

19

68

19

70

19

72

19

74

19

76

19

78

19

80

19

82

19

84

19

86

19

88

19

90

19

92

19

94

19

96

19

98

20

00

20

02

20

04

Year

Nu

mb

er

of

Wa

rs (

ab

so

lute

)

Extrasystemic Interstate

Internationalized Internal


Probability of death in battle, 1900–2005 (%)

Data for the number of battle deaths (civilian and military) from the COW Project (1900–45) and from our own data (1946–2005) at www.prio.no/cscw/cross/battledeaths, cf. Lacina, Gleditsch & Russett (2006). The number of battle deaths have been divided by the world population in all independent countries for that year, based on data in Gleditsch & Ward (2006).


Probability of death in battle, 1946–2005 (%)

Figure created by Lars Wilhelmsen. Data for the number of battle deaths (civilian and military) are from www.prio.no/cscw/cross/battledeaths, cf. Lacina & Gleditsch (2005). The number of battle deaths has been divided by the world population in all independent countries for that year, based on population data in Gleditsch & Ward (2006).

0,000 %

0,005 %

0,010 %

0,015 %

0,020 %

0,025 %

0,030 %

0,035 %

19

46

19

48

19

50

19

52

19

54

19

56

19

58

19

60

19

62

19

64

19

66

19

68

19

70

19

72

19

74

19

76

19

78

19

80

19

82

19

84

19

86

19

88

19

90

19

92

19

94

19

96

19

98

20

00

20

02

20

04

Year

Ris

k o

f D

eath

in

Bat

tle

Risk of Death


The Iraq spike

Figure created by Lars Wilhelmsen. The data for the number of battle deaths (civilian and military) are from the same sources as the previous slide but the Lacina figures for Iraqi battle deaths have been replaced by the median estimate of a (somewhat controversial) article in The Lancet (Burnham et al., 2006).

0,000 %

0,005 %

0,010 %

0,015 %

0,020 %

0,025 %

0,030 %

0,035 %

19

46

19

48

19

50

19

52

19

54

19

56

19

58

19

60

19

62

19

64

19

66

19

68

19

70

19

72

19

74

19

76

19

78

19

80

19

82

19

84

19

86

19

88

19

90

19

92

19

94

19

96

19

98

20

00

20

02

20

04

Year

Ris

k o

f D

eath

in

Bat

tle

Risk of Death


The blodiest conflicts after World War II

Conflict Time Battle deaths

Vietnam War 1955–75 2,100,000

Korean War 1950–53 1,250,000

Chinese Civil War 1946–49 1,200,000

Iran-Irak War 1980–88 650,000

Afghanistan1978–2002 550,000


What is not included in these numbers?

One-sided violence (genocide, politicide, democide)

Non-state conflicts (communal conflicts)

Crime

Nonviolent deaths in the wake of war (indirect deaths)


Casualties in state, non-state, andone-sided conflicts 2002–03

Kilde: Human Security Report.


Genocide and politicide 1956–2001

The figures refer to the number of cases with serious human rights violations in a given year. The figure has been copied from Mack (2007) based on data from Harff (2003), updated to 2005. Please do not reproduce, since Mack (2007) is still in press. An earlier figure (to 2001) is available in Mack (2005).


Genocide and politicide 1989–2004

Source: Eck & Hultman (2007). The figure for ’government’ in 1994 is 530,399 and is way above the ceiling for the figure.

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

1000019

89

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

government rebels


Democide in the twentieth century

The data are from Rummel (1994), updated on his website http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/.

Definitions:Genocide: among other things, the killing of people by a government because of their indelible group membership (race, ethnicity, religion, language). Politicide: the murder of any person or people by a government because of their politics or for political purposes. Mass Murder: the indiscriminate killing of any person or people by a government. Democide: The murder of any person or people by a government, including genocide, politicide, and mass murder.


Democide by year, 1900–1987

Source: Rummel (1997): Table 23.1, http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/SOD.FIG23.1.GIF. Some of the democide estimates have subsequently been revised upwards. Including them might make the curve peak in a later year around the ‘Great Leap Forward’ in China, 1958–61), but would probably not affect the inverted U-shape. (This figure was added to the ppt presentation after the lecture.)


Indirect deaths in selected conflicts in Africa

CountryTime

period(a) Battle

deaths(b) War deaths b/a

Angola1974–2002

160 475 1,5 mill.; 50% after 1992 9

DR Congo1998–2001

145 0002,5 mill. (incl. 350 000

violent)17

Ethiopia* 1976–91 16 000 1984–85: 1–2 mill. 63–125

Liberia1989–2001

24 099 150 000–200 000 6–9

Mozambique 1976–92 145 400 500 000–1 mill. 3–7

Nigeria (Biafra )

1967–70 75 000 500 000–2 mill. 7–27

Sierra Leone1991–2000

12 997 1991–95: 30 000 2

Somalia 1981–96 67 250from 1988 to mid-1990s:

250 000–350 0004–5

Sudan1983–2002

55 500 2 mill. 36

Sudan (Anya Nya rebellion)

1963–73 20 000 250 000–750 000 13–38

* Eritrea rebellion not included. Source: Lacina & Gleditsch (2005)


Good news about international terrorism,

number of episodes, 1982–2003

Source: Mack (2005), based on data from the US Department of State


Bad news about international terrorism,number of deaths 1982–2003

Source: Mack (2005), based on data from the US Department of State


Military expenditure, 1985–2003

Source: Bonn International Center for Conversion, www.bicc.de


More countries are involved in conflict

Figure created by Lars Wilhelmsen on the basis of www.prio.no/cscw/armedconflict .

0 %

5 %

10 %

15 %

20 %

25 %

30 %

35 %

40 %

19

46

19

48

19

50

19

52

19

54

19

56

19

58

19

60

19

62

19

64

19

66

19

68

19

70

19

72

19

74

19

76

19

78

19

80

19

82

19

84

19

86

19

88

19

90

19

92

19

94

19

96

19

98

20

00

20

02

20

04

Year

Sh

are

of

Co

un

trie

s

Countries in Conflict


Average number of countries per conflict

Figure created by Lars Wilhelmsen on the basis of www.prio.no/cscw/armedconflict. Number of conflict participants for all conflicts divided by the number of on-going conflicts.

0

0,5

1

1,5

2

2,5

3

3,5

19

46

19

48

19

50

19

52

19

54

19

56

19

58

19

60

19

62

19

64

19

66

19

68

19

70

19

72

19

74

19

76

19

78

19

80

19

82

19

84

19

86

19

88

19

90

19

92

19

94

19

96

19

98

20

00

20

02

20

04

Year

Ave

rag

e N

um

ber

of

Sta

tes

Conflict Participants


A smaller share of countries havea conflict on their own territory

Figure created by Halvard Buhaug, based on the conflict locations reported by Buhaug & Gates (2002).

Countries with Conflict on Territory, 1946-2005

0

0,05

0,1

0,15

0,2

0,25

0,319

46

1949

1952

1955

1958

1961

1964

1967

1970

1973

1976

1979

1982

1985

1988

1991

1994

1997

2000

2003

Year

Sh

are


The size of the conflict zones are declining

Computed by Lars Wilhelmsen, based on the circular conflict zones reported by Buhaug & Gates (2002).

0 %

5 %

10 %

15 %

20 %

25 %

19

46

19

48

19

50

19

52

19

54

19

56

19

58

19

60

19

62

19

64

19

66

19

68

19

70

19

72

19

74

19

76

19

78

19

80

19

82

19

84

19

86

19

88

19

90

19

92

19

94

19

96

19

98

20

00

20

02

20

04

Year

Sh

are

of

Ter

riro

ry

Share of Territory in Conflict Zone


Great power wars 1500–2000

The frequency of great-power wars graphed by quarter centuries. From Levy, Walker & Edwards (2001), Figure 2 (20).


War in Primitive Societies

Source: …

• Keeley (1996)• LeBlanc (2003)• Pinker (2007)

- against the myth of ‘the peaceful savage’


Modern and primitive warfare

Scale: 0 .2 .4 .6 .8 1.0 1.2

Annual war deaths as % of population. Source: Keeley (1996: 89, Figure 6.1)


Why was primitive warfare so deadly?

Source: Keeley (1996), ch. 6.

• The prevalence of wars• Frequent low-casualty battles• High participation of tribesmen• High-frequency deadly raids• Customary killing of all adult males• Poor treatment of women and children


How to account for the move to peace?

• Liberalism: Spread of democracy, economic integration, and international organization

• Realism: Lack of great-power confrontations• Structuralism: Hegemonic rule• Conflict resolution: More peacekeeping and

peacemaking


The growth of the liberal factors

-

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

194

5

194

8

195

1

195

4

195

7

196

0

196

3

196

6

196

9

197

2

197

5

197

8

198

1

198

4

198

7

199

0

199

3

199

6

199

9

200

2

Year

Per

cen

t o

f 19

73 L

evel

IGOs

Trade/GDP

Democracy

Source for democracy: Marshall & Jaggers (2003), for trade/GDP: Gleditsch (2002), for IGOs: Pevehouse, Nordstrom & Warnke (2004)


Peacemaking and peacekeeping

• Conflict resolution• Peacekeeping• Peacemaking - but Luttwak: Give war a chance


Trends in peacemaking

• Preventing conflict onsets: A six-fold increase in UN preventive diplomacy missions (1 6) between 1990 and 2002

• Ending ongoing conflicts: A five-fold increase in UN peacemaking missions (3 15) between 1989 and 2002

• Preventing restarts: A Four-fold increase in UN peace operations (5 20) between 1987 and 1999

• Support local actors: A twelve-fold increase in ‘Friends of the Secretary-General’ and other mechanisms (3 36) between 1989 and 2004

Source: Mack (2007: 3)


Distinguishing between the explanations?

• Realism, structuralism, and peacekeeping:Change occurs at 1989- number of conflicts

- conflict zone

• Liberalism:Longer-term change- battle deaths

- great-power war


Accounting for the increase in countries at war

• Realism- more countries assuming regional power role

• Structuralism- hegemon is commanding more countries into war

• Liberalism- international norms pursued by more countries

• Peacekeeping- peacekeeping wars


Number of participants in the 'largest' conflicts

No. of states Start End Conflict36 2003 continuing Iraq intervention and civil war

29 1990 1991 Iraq vs. Kuwait

27 1978 continuing Afghanistan civil war and intervention

20 1998 1999 Yugoslavia (Serbia) –Kosovo War

20 1949 1953 Korean War

9 1965 1975 Vietnam War

8 1964 2001 Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire)

3–6 17 conflicts

2 60 conflicts

1 145 conflicts


Participants in the two recent Iraq conflicts1990–91 (28 countries vs. 1)USA, Canada, Honduras, Argentina, UK, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Greece, Norway, Denmark, Senegal, Niger, Morocco, Kuwait, Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Australia

vs. Iraq

2003– (35 countries vs. 1, 13 old + 23 new)USA, Dominican Republic, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, UK, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy, Albania, Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Moldova, Rumania, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Norway, Denmark, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Republic of Korea, Japan, Philippines, Australia + Tonga

vs. Iraq


Problems in testing the general models

- not all effects linear (in particular democracy, but perhaps economic interdependence and IGOs)

- democracy where?

- cannot predict annual changes very well

- sensitive to single wars

- but wars backed by major powers on opposite sides seem less likely – hence cautious optimism


References (1)

Angell, Normann, 1910. The Great Illusion: A Study of the Relation of Military Power in Nations to Their Economic and Social Advantage. London: Heinemann. Reissued in a new edition, same publisher, 1934. [Shorter version published 1909 as Europe’s Optical Illusion]Buhaug, Halvard & Scott Gates, 2002. ‘The Geography of Civil War’, Journal of Peace Research 39(4): 417–433.Burnham, Gilbert; Riyadh Lafta, Shannon Doocy & Les Roberts, 2006. ’Mortality after the 2003 Invasion of Iraq: A Cross-sectional Cluster Sample Survey’, Lancet 368(9545): 1421–1428.Eck, Kristine & Lisa Hultman, 2007. ’One-Sided Violence against Civilians in War: Insights from New Fatality Data’, Journal of Peace Research 44(2),

in press.Gaddis, John Lewis, 1987. The Long Peace: Inquiries into the History of the Cold War. New York: Oxford University Press.Gleditsch, Kristian Skrede, 2002. ’Expanded Trade and GDP Data’, Journal of Conflict Resolution 46(5): 712–724Gleditsch, Kristian Skrede & Michael D. Ward, 2006. 'The Diffusion of Democracy and the International Context of Democratization', International Organization 60(4): 911–933Gurr, Ted Robert, 1994. ‘Peoples against States – Ethnopolitical Conflict and the Changing World-System’, International Studies Quarterly 38(3):

347–377 Gurr, Ted Robert, 1994. ‘Ethnic Warfare on the Wane’, Foreign Affairs 79(3): 52–64Harff, Barbara, 2003. ‘No Lessons Learned from the Holocaust? Assessing Risk of Genocide and Political Mass Murder since 1955’, American Political Science Review 97(1): 57–73Harbom, Lotta; Stina Högbladh & Peter Wallensteen, 2006. 'Armed Conflict and Peace Agreements', Journal of Peace Research 43(5): 617–631.Hewitt, Joe; Jon Wilkenfeld & Ted Gurr, eds, 2007. Peace and Conflict 2007. Boulder, CO: Paradigm, in pressHuntingon, Samuel P., 1993. ‘The Clash of Civilizations’, Foreign Affairs 72(3): 22–49 Kaldor, Mary, 1999. New and Old Wars: Organized Violence in a Global Era. Stanford, CA: Stanford University PressKeeley, Lawrence H., 1996. War before Civilization. New York: Oxford University PressLacina, Bethany & Nils Petter Gleditsch, 2005: 'Monitoring Trends in Global Combat: A New Dataset of Battle Deaths', European Journal of Population 21(2–3): 145–166.Lacina, Bethany; Nils Petter Gleditsch & Bruce Russett, 2006. 'The Declining Risk of Death in Battle', International Studies Quarterly 50(3): 673–680


References (2)LeBlanc, Steven A., with Katherine E. Register, 2003. Constant Battles: The Myth of the Peaceful, Noble Savage. New York: St. Martin’s.Levy, Jack S; Thomas C. Walker & Martin S. Edwards, 2001. ’Continuity and Change in the Evolution of Warfare’, in Zeev Maoz & Azar Gat, eds, War

in a Changing World. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press (15–48)Luttwak, Edward, 1999. ‘Give War a Chance’, Foreign Affairs 78(4): 36–44Mack, Andrew, ed., 2005. Human Security Report 2005. War and Peace in the 21st Century. New York: Oxford University Press, for Human Security Centre, University of British Columbia, www.humansecurityreport.org.Mack, Andrew, ed., 2005. Human Security Brief 2006. New York: Oxford University Press, for Human Security Centre, University of British Columbia, www.humansecurityreport.org.Mack, Andrew, 2007. Global Political Violence: Explaining the Post-Cold War Decline. Coping with Crisis. Working Paper Series. New York:

International Peace Academy, in pressMaoz, Zeev, 2001. ’Democratic Networks: Connecting National, Dyadic, and Systemic Levels of Analysis in the Study of Democracy and War’, in

Maoz & Gat, eds (143–182)Maoz, Zeev & Azar Gat, eds, War in a Changing World. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.Marshall, Monty G., 1999. Third World War: System, Process, and Conflict Dynamics. Lanham, MD: Rowman & LittlefieldMarshall, Monty G. & Keith Jaggers, 2003. Polity IV Project. http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/inscr/polity/.Mearsheimer, John J., 1990. ‘Back to the Future: Instability in Europe After the Cold War’, International Security 15(1): 5–56Mueller, John, 1989. Retreat from Doomsday. The Obsolescence of Major War. New York: Basic Books.Mueller, John, 2004. The Remnants of War. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University PressMueller, John, 2006. ‘Accounting for the Waning of Major War’, ch. 2 in Väyrynen, ed. (64–79)Pevehouse, J., T. Nordstrom and K. Warnke, 2004. Intergovernmental Organizations, 1815-2000: A New Correlates of War Data Set.

http://cow2.la.psu.edu/COW2%20Data/IGOs/IGOv2-1.htmPinker. Steven, 2007. ’We’re Getting Nicer Every Day’, New Republic, 19 MarchRice, Edward E., 1993. Wars of the Third Kind: Conflict in Underdeveloped Countries. Berkeley, CA: University of California PressRummel, Rudolph J., 1994. Death by Government: Genocide and Mass Murder in the Twentieth Century. New Brunswick, NJ: TransactionRummel, Rodolph J., 1997. Statistics of Democide. Genocide and Mass Murder Since 1900. Charlottesville, VA: Center for National Security Law,

School of Law, University of Virginia & Transaction Publishers, Rutgers University, http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/NOTE5.HTMSarkees, Meredith R.; Frank W. Wayman & J. David Singer, 2003. ‘Inter-state, Intra-state, and Extra-state Wars: A Comprehensive Look at Their

Distribution over Time’, International Studies Quarterly 47(1): 49–70Väyrynen, Raimo, ed., 2006. The Waning of Major War. Theories and Debates. London & New York: RoutledgeWallensteen, Peter, 2006, 2006. ‘Trends in Major War: Too Early for Waning’, ch. 3 in Väyrynen, ed.

The decline of war – will it continue? Towards a more peaceful world? Trends in armed conflict...

Documents

Transcript of The decline of war – will it continue? Towards a more peaceful world? Trends in armed conflict...