Lecture #4: Conflict, War, and Terrorism
- 1. PS 215 – Global Issues, MHCC
- 2. Hegemonic war – war over control of the entire world order; the rules of the international system. Total war – war by one state waged to conquer or occupy another; key is surrender of government. Limited war – military actions carried out to gain some objective short of surrender and occupation; (U.S. and Iraq in 1991) Civil war – war between factions within a state trying to create, or prevent a new government for the state or some part of it. Guerilla war – warfare without front lines; irregular forces; harass and punish
- 3. Conflict: generally refers to armed conflict; the condition against which bargaining takes place. Individual level – rationality; international conflicts is normal and reflects rational decisions Domestic level – draws attention to the characteristics of states or societies that makes them more or less prone to use violence. (ideology) Interstate level – explains wars in terms of power relations among major actors in the international system. Global level – major warfare is cyclical; related to long economic waves
- 4. Six (6) types: (1) Ethnic (2) Religious (3) Ideological (4) Territorial (5) Governmental (6) Economic * Ideas vs. interests
- 5. Nationalism: devotion to the interests of one’s own nation over the interests of other states – may be the most important force in world politics in the past two centuries. Self determination – implies that people who identify as a nation should have the right to form a state and exercise sovereignty over their affairs.
- 6. Ethnic Conflict Ethnic groups: large groups of people who share ancestral, language, cultural, or religious ties and common identity. Territorial control is closely tied to the aspirations of ethnic groups for statehood. ▪ Ethnocentrism – the tendency to see one’s own group in favorable terms and an out-group in unfavorable terms. Genocide: systematic exterminations of ethnic or religious groups in whole or in part, to try to destroy scapegoated groups or political rivals.
- 7. Religious conflict: Fundamentalist movements – organize their lives and communities around religious beliefs; many are willing to sacrifice, kill, and die for those beliefs. Secular political organizations – those created apart from religious establishments ▪ Threats from international system
- 8. Territorial disputes Disputes over how borders are drawn or conflicts over control of entire states within existing borders. Irredentism: the goal of regaining territory lost to another state. Secession: efforts to secede from an existing state; not the borders of two existing states but the efforts to draw international borders around a new state. Territorial waters (UN – 3 miles of shore), airspace Control of governments, economic conflict., drugs
- 9. Terrorism: political violence that targets civilians deliberately and indiscriminately. Psychological, fear, violence as leverage… State-sponsored terrorism – the use of terrorist groups by states – usually under control of the state’s intelligence agency – to achieve political aims. Counterterrorism: methods and policies implemented to prevent terrorist attacks; organized military conflict, policing activities, economic development.
- 10. Missile Technology Control Regime – industrialized states’ attempts to try and limit the flow of missile-relevant technology. 1972 Biological Weapons Convention 1992 Chemical Weapons Convention Proliferation: the spread of weapons of mass destruction – nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles, and chemical or biological weapons. Non-Proliferation Treat 1968 (NPT) – created framework for controlling spread of nuclear materials. ▪ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)