WHAT IS “SECURITY”; WHAT IS CONFLICT?
• Why does “intl.” security matter to us?
• What is “world peace”?
• Should we always prefer peace? “War isn’t the
answer”
TYPES OF WAR AND THEIR PREVALENCE (LOTS OF
DATA COMING YOUR WAY)
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Hegemonic war – conflict among two or more global powers
Total war vs. limited war
Civil wars an coup d’ état
Guerilla wars and counterinsurgencies
Terrorism (low intensity, non-state violence against civilians)
Genocide
WMDs and war
WHO STARTS WARS???
THE CAUSES OF WAR: INDIVIDUALS?
• Are we innately violent?
• Groups, nationalism, and identity
• Misperceptions by leaders
– What kinds of problems do all leaders have?
– Why do some states suffer more from problems with
leader misjudgment than others
THE CAUSES OF WAR: STATE AND ECONOMIC
STRUCTURES
• The democratic peace thesis
• Domestic economic and resources issues
• Regime types and information flow
• Cultures and war
THE CAUSES OF WAR: THE INTL. SYSTEM
• Anarchy, self-help, the security dilemma
• Collective security still doesn’t work well
• The limits of international institutions
• Some distributions of power in the intl system cause more conflict
than others?
• Biosphere stress may cause more conflict over time
HOW IS WAR CHANGING? SOME OF THE BIG QUESTIONS SOCIAL
SCIENTISTS ARE LOOKING AT
• There are a lot fewer wars about resources than there used to
be…why is this so? Is this pattern likely to persist?
• There seem to be more civil wars and wars over nationalism and
religion. Why?
• Are wars over ideology gone or just awaiting competition among
multiple hegemons to heat up again?
• Can we expect more wars in the future in the name of humanity?