REPUBLIC OF BENIN

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MINISTRY OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
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UNIVERSITY OF ABOMEY CALAVI (UAC)

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ABOMEY CALAVI POLYTECHNIC (ACP)

COMPUTER SCIENCE ENGINEERING 4 / ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING 4 /

CHEMISTRY AND PROCESS ENGINEERING 4.

Lessons : Scientific English

Theme : Why is war so recurrent in the world today ?

Realize by group 4: Under the supervision of:

GBEDOUROROU Adam Lecturer Kogbédji DANHA

GNELE Mauriac

HOUENOU Ruben

HOUNFODJI Hospice

KIKI Esther

Academic year: 2022 – 2023

 Brief Contents
Introduction ........................................................................................................... 3
1. Definitions and general information on war ................................................... 4
2. Different reasons that cause war today ........................................................... 4
2.1 Economic Gain ......................................................................................... 5
2.2 Territorial Gain ......................................................................................... 5
2.3 Religion ..................................................................................................... 5
2.4 Revenge .................................................................................................... 6
2.5 Civil War................................................................................................... 6
2.6 Revolutionary War.................................................................................... 6
2.7 Defensive War .......................................................................................... 6
3. War between Russia and Ukraine: causes ...................................................... 7
3.1 Unaccountable .......................................................................................... 7
3.2 Ideological ................................................................................................ 7
3.3 Biased........................................................................................................ 7
3.4 Uncertain ................................................................................................... 8
3.5 Unreliable.................................................................................................. 8
Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 9
References ........................................................................................................... 10

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 Introduction
War is a major fact of societies, a "fact total social", as Marcel Mauss writes.
But war is also " a trash ". It separates men and destroys their world. And
however, she keeps starting over again, nourished by this death instinct of which
Freud speaks, who concluded that man not seek to do his good. The war, should
we be saddened by it, is an almost universal topic. With the exception of rare
companies’ pacifists (called war free) like some aboriginal groups of Malaysia,
there is no universal culture that does not be affected by the conflict. But what is
war? What causes war these days?

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 1. Definitions and general information on war
War represents human violence in its most intensive form. It is a state of
armed conflict between different countries or different groups within a country.

We can also define it as a state of competition or hostility between

different people or groups, or a sustained campaign against an undesirable
situation or activity.

2. Different reasons that cause war today

Nations go to war for a variety of reasons. It has been argued that a nation will go
to war if the benefits of war are deemed to outweigh the disadvantages, and if
there is a sense that there is not another mutually agreeable solution. More
specifically, some have argued that wars are fought primarily for economic,
religious, and political reasons. Others have claimed that most wars today are
fought for ideological reasons.

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 2.1 Economic Gain
Often wars are caused by one country's wish to take control of another country's
wealth. Whatever the other reasons for a war may be, there is very often an
economic motive underlying most conflicts, even if the stated aim of the war is
presented to the public as something more noble. In pre-industrial times, the
gains desired by a warring country might be precious materials such as gold and
silver, or livestock such as cattle and horses.
In modern times, the resources that are hoped to be gained from war take the
form of things like oil, minerals, or materials used in manufacturing. Some
experts believe that as the world’s population increases and basic resources
become scarce, wars will be fought more often over fundamental essentials,
such as water and food.

2.2 Territorial Gain

A country might decide that it needs more land, either for living space,
agricultural use, or other purposes. Territory can also be used as “buffer zones”
between two hostile enemies.
Related to buffer zones are proxy wars. These are conflicts that are fought
indirectly between opposing powers in a third country. Each power supports the
side which best suits their logistical, military, and economic interests.
Proxy wars were particularly common during the Cold War.

2.3 Religion
Religious conflicts often have very deep roots. They can lie dormant for
decades, only to re-emerge in a flash at a later date.
Religious wars can often be tied to other reasons for conflict, such as
nationalism or revenge for a perceived historical slight in the past.
While different religions fighting against each other can be a cause of war,
different sects within a religion (for example, Protestant and Catholic, or Sunni
and Shiite) battling against one another can also instigate war.

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 2.4 Revenge
Seeking to punish, redress a grievance, or simply strike back for a perceived
slight can often be a factor in the waging of war. Revenge also relates to
nationalism, as the people of a country which has been wronged are motivated to
fight back by pride and spirit.
Unfortunately, this can lead to an endless chain of retaliatory wars being set in
motion which is very difficult to stop. Any distinction between the victim and
aggressor can often become blurred, with all participants perceiving themselves
as fighting a just war to right historic wrongs.

2.5 Civil War

These generally take place when there is sharp internal disagreement within a
country. The disagreement can be about who rules, how the country should be
run or the people's rights. These internal rifts often turn into chasms that result in
violent conflict between two or more opposing groups.
Civil wars can also be sparked by separatist groups who want to form their own,
independent country, or, as in the case of the American Civil War, states
wanting to secede from a larger union.

2.6 Revolutionary War

These occur when a large section of the population of a country revolt against
the individual or group that rules the country because they are dissatisfied with
their leadership.
Revolutions can begin for a variety of reasons, including economic hardship
amongst certain sections of the population or perceived injustices committed by
the ruling group. Other factors can contribute too, such as unpopular wars with
other countries.
Revolutionary wars can easily descend into civil wars.

2.7 Defensive War

In the modern world, where military aggression is more widely questioned,
countries will often argue that they are fighting in a purely defensive capacity
against an aggressor, or potential aggressor, and that their war is therefore a
“just” war.

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These defensive wars can be especially controversial when they are launched
preemptively, the argument essentially being that: “We are attacking them
before they inevitably attack us.”

3. War between Russia and Ukraine: causes

Several causes are at the origin of this war among which we have:

3.1 Unaccountable
A personalized autocrat, Putin doesn’t have to weigh the interests of his soldiers
and citizens. He can pursue whatever course helps him preserve his regime’s
control. When leaders go unchecked and are unaccountable to their people, they
can ignore the costs of fighting that ordinary people bear. Instead, rulers can
pursue their own agendas. That is why dictators are more prone to war.

3.2 Ideological
Consider Putin again. Most accounts of the current war dwell on his nationalist
obsessions and desires for a glorious legacy. What costs and risks he does bear,
Putin is willing to pay in pursuit of glory and ideology. This is just one example
of intangible and ideological incentives for war that so many leaders possess—
God’s glory, freedom, or some nationalist vision.
Societies have ideological incentives too. Unlike the people of Belarus or
Kazakhstan, the Ukrainians refused to accept serious restrictions on their
sovereignty despite what (at first) seemed to be relative military weakness. Like
liberation movements throughout history—including the American
revolutionaries—they have been willing to undertake the ruin and risks of
fighting partly in pursuit of an ideal.

3.3 Biased
Most accounts of Russia’s invasion stress Putin’s isolation and insulation from
the truth. He and his advisors grossly underestimated the difficulty of war. This
is a story of institutional bias—a system that is unwilling to tell its leader bad
news.
Autocrats are especially prone to this problem, but intelligence failures plague
democracies too. Leaders can be psychologically biased as well. Humans have

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an amazing ability to cling to mistaken beliefs. We can be overconfident,
underestimating the ruin of war and overestimating our chances of victory. And
we demonize and misjudge our opponents. These misperceptions can carry us to
war.

3.4 Uncertain
Too much focus on bias and misperception obscures the subtler role of
uncertainty. In the murky run-up to war, policymakers don’t know their enemy’s
strength or resolve. How unified would the West be? How capably would
Ukrainians resist? How competent was the Russian military? All these things
were fundamentally uncertain, and many experts were genuinely surprised that
Russia got a bad draw on all three—most of all, presumably, Putin himself.
But uncertainty doesn’t just mean the costs of war are uncertain, and invasion a
gamble. There are genuine strategic impediments to getting good information.
You can’t trust your enemy’s demonstrations of resolve, because they have
reasons to bluff, hoping to extract a better deal without fighting. Any poker
player knows that, amid the uncertainty, the optimal strategy is never to fold all
the time. It’s never to call all the time, either. The best strategy is to approach it
probabilistically—to occasionally gamble and invade.

3.5 Unreliable
When a declining power faces a rising one, how can it trust the rising power
to commit to peace? Better to pay the brutal costs of war now, to lock in one’s
current advantage. Some scholars argue that such shifts in power, and the
commitment problems they create, are at the root of every long war in history—
from World War I to the US invasion of Iraq.
This is not why Russia invaded Ukraine, of course. Still, it may help to
understand the timing. In 2022, Russia had arguably reached peak leverage
versus Ukraine. Ukraine was acquiring drones and defensive missiles. And the
country was growing more democratic and closer to Europe—to Putin, a
dangerous example of freedom nearby.

Putting the five together and the reasons cited above, fallible, biased leaders
with nationalist ambitions ignored the costs of war and drove their societies to
violent ruin. But the explanation doesn’t end there. There are strategic roots as
well.

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 Conclusion
In conclusion, war is an act of violence, a much more common phenomenon
these days. Its causes are multiple. We can cite for example economic gain,
territorial gain, religion, revenge and many others. However, realistic and
achievable solutions must be implemented to limit wars today.

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 References
• https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/war
• https://mwi.usma.edu/the-five-reasons-wars-happen/

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