MODERN INTERNATIONAL CONFLICT Nathan B. Gilson Southwest Middle School

INTERNATIONAL CONFLICT There are many different forms of conflict that countries can engage in:  Economic Conflict—Countries deliberately do things that mess with or negatively impact another country’s economy.  Military (Armed) Conflict—War  Political Conflict—Using alliances, international organizations, etc. to put pressure on other nations

NORTH AND SOUTH KOREA Both nations claim the sole legitimacy over the land that is currently occupied by both North and South Korea.  Because of this, both sides have agreed to a cease- fire, but not ending their war, due to the fact that the comprise reached on creating two Korean nations, which both countries reject the idea of. North Korea has very little support from any nation in the world, due to their nuclear weapons program, which has alienated them even from China.  Because of this program, and human rights violations, North Korea is under heavy sanctions from the rest of the world. South Korea is recognized by the Western world as a legitimate government, and enjoys positive trade and diplomatic relations with the rest of the world.

INDIA AND PAKISTAN Both nations were created out of the Indian colony by the British Empire Most of their differences revolve around the control of a rich resource area called Kashmir, which is on the border of both countries  Ethnic differences, particularly religious differences, have also led to strained relations between both sides. Ethnic cleansing has been committed by both ethnic groups. Nations have fought 4 wars, 3 of them have been specifically over the Kashmir region.  Several other border skirmishes have almost resulted in other wars.  Both nations possess nuclear weapons.

RUSSIA AND UKRAINE In the time around the 2012 Olympics, increased riots in Ukraine led to national awareness of Russian political pressure to annex parts of Ukraine. Ukraine was a former Soviet state during the Cold War  During the conflict, Russia has been very proactive in using their military to “help” protect ethnic Russians who they claim were targeted by the Ukrainian government  More likely an excuse to use the military to take land while not officially going to war. Ukraine has been asking NATO, European Union, and the United Nations for assistance in resisting the political, military, and economic pressures being put on their nation by the Russian Federation.

ISRAEL AND THE MIDDLE EAST Most Arab nations in the Middle East have issues with the Israeli democracy existing in the Middle East  Due to anti-Semitism but also their Western perspective with clashes with Arab cultural values. Since the formation of Israel, they have fought in wars against Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Algeria, Soviet Union, as well as Palestinians. Israel has won all of its wars (except one against Lebanon), and in most cases, the Western world has forced them to retreat or give back conquered lands as concessions to the losing countries. Most recent wars have been against Hamas and Hezbollah.

SYRIAN CONFLICT Despite the presence of ISIS, since 2011, Syria has been involved in a civil war  Rebel forces want to take out the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad and replace his regime The Syrian conflict began as a result of the “Arab Spring” which was a widespread revolution of numerous Arab nations.  Egypt was the first nation which experienced a revolution.  Libya deposed its dictator, Moamar Gadhafi with US assistance  Iran had an attempted revolution against its theocratic regime, but was unsuccessful Over 200,000 fatalities have occurred since this war began.

AFGHANISTAN WAR Began in 1978 with the Soviet Afghan War  US began to support the Taliban and Islamic extremists Once the Soviets left, fighting continued between the two groups, largely free of Soviet and American intervention.  Taliban establishes official government in In 2004, the US re-instituted a war against the Taliban, this time supporting the forces situated against the Taliban and al-Qaeda Estimates range between 1 and 2 million fatalities in this war of almost 40 years.

MEXICAN DRUG WARS Fought between the Mexican government and drug cartels  Estimates as high as 150,000 fatalities since Mexican drug cartels control most of the cocaine traffic into the United States Cartels earn up to $50 billion annually from drug trafficking  That money is used to finance wars against the government and extend influence in the region Cartels have been a major part of large illegal immigrant populations coming into the United States.

SOMALI CIVIL WAR Initially began in 1991, with US and United Nations forces supporting the Somali government. After years of fighting, the US and UN have withdrawn support from government forces due to human rights violations against the citizens of the country. About half a million people have died in the fighting since the beginning of the war.