1. Purpose of War POLITICAL SCIENCE – SPRING 2016 – MS GORSKI

2. Why study war?  Oldest, most prevalent, and most salient issue in international relations  Security comes first in IR – all other competing values presuppose security (human rights, environment, economic development)  Number and intensity of war has dropped by half since 1991  Theorists disagree over the inevitability of war  Realists argue it is inevitable (Prisoner’s Dilemma)  Liberals argue elimination of war through effective institutions  Constructivists say war is result of socialization in which conflict is assumed to exist

3. What States fight over  Purpose isn’t to fight, but to obtain something a state wants  Problem: bargaining over object or issues of value to more than 1 state  Territory  Contribute to wealth: oil, natural gas, minerals  Industrial or agricultural resources  Ethnic, cultural, or historical reasons  Policies  Policy benefits the state, but harms another  Replace offending regime with friendlier ones (Iraq & Afghanistan)  Regime type  Cold war  Vietnam war

4. New Concepts  Preemptive war – War fought with the anticipation that an attack by the other side is imminent  Preventive war – war fought to prevent an adversary from becoming stronger in the future  Security Dilemma – states seeking to increase their defense capability end up threatening other states, increasing tensions & chance of war  Democratic Peace – democracies virtually never fight each other

5. Causes of War: The Individual  Both characteristics of individual leaders & general attributes of people  R – Characteristics of the masses lead to war. Aggressive behavior is adopted by all species for survival.  L – Misperceptions by leaders, such as seeing aggressiveness where it may not be intended, or attributing actions of one person to an entire group, lead to war.

6. Causes of War: State and Society  Wars occur because of the internal structures of states  L – Some types of economic systems (Aristocracies) are more war-prone than others. Democratic regimes are least likely to wage war because norms & culture inhibit the leadership from taking actions leading to war  Radical – Conflict & war are attributed to the internal dynamics of capitalist economic systems: competition & struggle leads to war.

7. Causes of War: The International System  R –The international system is equivalent to a state of war: anarchic & governed by a weak and overarching rule of law. War breaks out because there is nothing to stop it. States themselves are the final authorities and the ultimate arbiters of disputes; herein resides sovereignty.  State’s security ensured only by military & economic power  Variant: Power Transition Theory : Changes in state capabilities lead to war.  Radical – Dominant capitalist states within the international system need to expand economically, leading to wars with developing regions over natural resources & labor markets.

8. Case Study: Iraq’s Invasion of Kuwait  Individual Level: Saddam Hussein’s individual characteristics – insecurity & ruthlessness – help explain Iraq’s actions. Hussein may have calculated that his actions would not elicit a military response from the international community.  State Level: Iraq was acting in its own national interest. Iraq felt that the land (oil fields) annexed had been illegally seized during the British occupation ~WWI. The 1980-88 war with Iran also reduced Iraq’s oil revenues.  International Level: Several factors indicated that Iraq’s actions would not be resisted: the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Arab League’s reluctance to criticize its members, & historical failure of UN Security Council to act decisively

9. Categorizing Wars  Interstate Wars – wars between 2+ states; easiest to study & cause the most damage  Intrastate Wars – wars between groups within a state, with or without international participation  Total War – wars involving multiple great powers; significant destruction & loss of life; all parts of society & economy focused on war effort  Limited War – objective is not surrender & occupation of enemy territory, but rather to attain limited goals  Korean War & Gulf War examples  Last a long time, with periods of fighting & calm  Human costs are high  Food supplies interrupted  Diseases spread  Money diverted from economic development to purchasing armaments  Entire generations may grow up knowing only war

10. How Wars Are Fought  Conventional War – war between designated soldiers representing specific sides, using conventional weapons (effects can be limited in space & time)  Weapons of Mass Destruction – chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons whose effects cannot be limited in space or to legitimate targets  Asymmetric Conflict - warfare conducted between parties of unequal strength

11. How Wars Are Fought  Unconventional Warfare – warfare in which one or more sides refuse to follow accepted conventions of war (conduct of war, refusal to accept outcomes of battle)  Guerilla Warfare – use civilian population to provide supplies; hit-and-run tactics (Taliban)  Terrorism – one side attempts to instill fear in the other to force concessions; involves:  Premeditation  Motivation  Noncombatant targets  Secretiveness

12. Just War Tradition  Jus ad bellum - justice of entering a war  Jus in bello – justice of how a war is fought  Several criteria justify entering war  Just cause  Leader has correct intentions  Leader wants to end abuses & establish peace  Exhaust all other possibilities  Remove forces rapidly after abuses end  Also addresses conduct in war  Combatants & noncombatants must be differentiated  Violence used needs to be proportionate to the ends achieved

13. Discussion topics  How can we avoid the security dilemma?  Is war ever “just?”