War and its Types

War and its Types

The Geneva Conventions: In 1864, several states created an international
agreement that regulated acceptable behavior during war and armed conflicts.
Since then, the Geneva Conventions have been amended in 1906, 1929, and
1949 as the nature of war and warfare has changed. The agreements prohibit
torture, rape, genocide, mutilation, slavery, and other crimes against
humanity. The conventions also state that prisoners of war must be treated
humanely and that civilians may not be used as hostages.

Causes of War
Political scientists have long debated the causes of war. These scholars have
come up with the following list:

1. Human nature: Humans are naturally violent and aggressive, making war
inevitable.

2. Regime types: Some regimes are more prone to waging war than others.

3. Ideology: Some political beliefs favor war more than others. Some
scholars blame fascism, for example, for World War II.

4. Religion: Religious belief has driven many states to war, either to spread
the faith or to eradicate heretics.

5. The global system: Because the global system is anarchic, states must
engage in war to protect themselves.

6. Economics and resources: Disputes over resources often lead to war.

Just-War Theory: Debate has raged as long as wars have been fought as to
whether a war can be morally just. Some prominent thinkers have proposed a
just-war theory, which argues that wars should be fought for noble and
worthwhile reasons. Just-war theorists also try to establish ethical rules for
warfare. Of course, whether any war is justified is almost always a matter of
debate. But most just-war theorists agree on some basic ideas:

1. War must be the last option. All peaceful means to resolve the conflict
must be exhausted before war breaks out.

2. The cause of the war must be just (such as overturning aggression and

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 War and its Types

righting a great wrong).

3. The war must be winnable.

4. The war’s purpose must justify the cost in money and lives.

5. The military must make every effort to prevent or limit civilian

casualties.

Click here to read: Causes of War – A Theory Analysis

The Good War: World War II is one of the few wars that nearly everyone
believes was morally justified. Nazi Germany and Japan were dangerous
regimes that committed atrocities against conquered peoples, and many
nations felt that they needed to be stopped. For these reasons, some refer to
World War II as “the good war.” In contrast, the social and political turmoil
caused by the Vietnam War was based, in part, on debate over whether that
war was justified.

Types of War
Although all wars are violent, not all wars are the same. In fact, there are
many different types of wars, which can be classified according to which
people actually fight, the intensity of the conflict, and the extent of
combatants’ use of violence, among other factors.

Scholars generally describe five types of war:

1. Total war

2. Limited war

3. Guerrilla war

4. Civil war

5. Proxy war

Total War: A total war is a war in which combatants use every resource
available to destroy the social fabric of the enemy. Total wars are highly
destructive and are characterized by mass civilian casualties because winning
a total war often requires combatants to break the people’s will to continue
fighting. World Wars I and II were total wars, marked by the complete

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 War and its Types

destruction of the civilian economy and society in many countries, including

France, Germany, the Soviet Union, Italy, Great Britain, and Japan.

Limited War: A limited war is a war fought primarily between professional

armies to achieve specific political objectives without causing widespread
destruction. Although the total of civilian casualties may be high, combatants
do not seek to completely destroy the enemy’s social and economic
frameworks. The Persian Gulf War of 1990–1991 was a limited war in which
the United States and its allies forcibly removed Iraqi troops from Kuwait.

Guerrilla War: A guerrilla war is a war in which one or both combatants use
small, lightly armed militia units rather than professional, organized armies.
Guerrilla fighters usually seek to topple their government, often enjoying the
support of the people. These wars are often very long but also tend to be
successful for the insurgents as evidenced by Mao Zedong’s victory over
Chiang Kai-shek in China in the 1940s, the Vietcong’s victory over the United
States in the Vietnam War, and the Mujahideen’s victory over the Soviet Union
in Afghanistan in the 1980s.

Civil War: A civil war is a war fought within a single country between or among
different groups of citizens who want to control the government and do not
recognize another group’s right to rule. Civil wars are almost always total wars
because each side feels compelled to destroy the enemy’s political support
base. Regional rifts, such as the American Civil War between the North and
the South, characterize some civil wars, whereas other civil wars have been
fought among ethnic rivals, religious rivals, and rival clans. Revolutions can
spark civil wars as well.

Proxy War: A proxy war is a war fought by third parties rather than by the
enemy states themselves. Many of the militarized conflicts during the Cold
War, such as the Korean War and the Vietnam War, can be interpreted as
proxy wars between the United States and the Soviet Union, neither of which
wanted to fight each other directly.

Categorizing Wars: A war can often be a limited war, a guerrilla war, and a
civil war all at the same time. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 is a
great example. The United States sent trainers, money, and weapons to Afghan
rebels to fight against the invaders, making it a low-intensity, limited conflict
from the U.S. point of view. The Afghan resistance mostly relied on guerrilla
tactics. And the war split Afghanistan, so it was also a civil war.

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