INSTITUTO SUPERIOR DE CIÊNCIAS E EDUCAÇÃO A DISTÂNCIA

Departamento de Ciências de Educação

Curso de Licenciatura em Ensino de História

THEME: WAR AND ITS IMPACT IN THE WORLD

Amina António
Código: 81231320

Nampula, Maio de 2023

INSTITUTO SUPERIOR DE CIÊNCIAS E EDUCAÇÃO A DISTÂNCIA

Departamento de Ciências de Educação

Curso de Licenciatura em Ensino de História

THEME: WAR AND ITS IMPACT IN THE WORLD

Trabalho de Campo a ser submetido na

Coordenação do Curso de Licenciatura em
Ensino de História do ISCED.
Tutor: Omar Rui Ringler

Amina António

Código: 81231320

Nampula, Maio de 2023

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Índice
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 4

GENERAL OBJECTIVE ..................................................................................................................... 4

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES ................................................................................................................... 4

1. THE CONCEPT OF WAR .............................................................................................................. 5

2. World War......................................................................................................................................... 5

3. FIRST WORLD WAR (1914-1918) ............................................................................................... 6

3.1. SECOND WORLD WAR............................................................................................................. 6

4. WARE AND IMPACT IN THE WORLD ..................................................................................... 8

4.1. IMPACTS OF WAR ON THE ENVIROMNMENT.................................................................. 8

4.2. DEATHS ........................................................................................................................................ 8

4.3. ECONOMIC AND POLITIC INSTABILITY ............................................................................ 8

4.4. THE SOCIAL IMPACTS ........................................................................................................... 10

4.4. The Psychological Consequences............................................................................................... 11

CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................... 13

BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES .................................................................................................. 14

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INTRODUCTION

The present work has as its theme the impacts of war on the world. Therefore, Wars are armed
conflicts that happen for different reasons, such as religious disagreements, political and
economic interests, territorial disputes, ethnic rivalries, among other reasons.

War refers, in its most common sense, to armed struggle or war between two or more nations or
bands. It implies the breaking of a state of peace and gives rise to a confrontation with all kinds
of weapons, which usually causes a high number of deaths. ANTONIO G. JUNIOR (UFJF,
2013).

The main social consequences of war are the casualties, which, in the war modern civil society,
are mainly civilian populations. According to COLLIER et al. (2003:17), the greatest impact
shifted from military personnel to civilian populations.

Based on the theme, the work has the following objectives:

GENERAL OBJECTIVE

 To analyze the impacts that the war brought worldwide.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

 Identify the types of war at world level;

 Recognize the world war;
 Recognize the consequences of war.

For the work, we used the bibliographic method, because for Baptista (2013), the bibliographic
method is one in which you can search for any topic only in books, doing, for example, a
literature review on a disease. But you can also research your object using the laboratory. (p.32).
Not only, we use a qualitative approach.

As for the structure, the work contains, cover, Feedback sheet, index, introduction, development,
conclusion and bibliography.

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1. THE CONCEPT OF WAR

Wars are armed conflicts that happen for different reasons, such as religious disagreements,
political and economic interests, territorial disputes, ethnic rivalries, among other reasons.

War refers, in its most common sense, to armed struggle or war between two or more nations or
bands. It implies the breaking of a state of peace and gives rise to a confrontation with all kinds
of weapons, which usually causes a high number of deaths. ANTONIO G. JUNIOR (UFJF,
2013),

A war is continuation of politics by other means”. While this is generally true, it tells us very
little about the nature of war. Someone who knew only this, could never have any idea that war
is, for example, an armed conflict Karl von Clausewitz (1780–1831)

2. World War

World War is a conflict capable of affecting all countries in some way. There has never actually
been a war with the military involvement of all countries, but the involvement of countries of
preponderance on the planet generates economic and political consequences that affect the
general order.

The concept of “World War” is something that carries with it the stigma of contemporaneity, the
expression is well applied to the times of globalization. Humanity has gone through numerous
wars, small or large scale, from Ancient History to the present day, but the moments of human
history have determined the repercussions of conflicts. It is clear that every war has human,
economic, social and political losses as an invariable consequence, but the dimension they
assume is closely linked to their historical moment.

In antiquity, great wars occurred, but because of more precarious military conditions, as well as
the human condition itself, they were restricted to a smaller region. Even so, even at the end of
that period, the great empires developed in such a way that they marked their expansionist
characteristics by conquering vast territories. In the middle Ages, because of the fragmentation
of the Roman Empire, conflicts occurred especially between regions. The great undertaking of
this period may be the Crusades promoted by the Catholic Church. The clash between Christians

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and Muslims generated a new brand of conflicts in the middle Ages, leading men to cross huge
territories to fight their enemies.

In the Modern Age, military conditions became more improved and the arrival in America
caused the center of world economic relations to shift to the Atlantic Ocean. Weaponry evolves
and so does man's ability to cross oceans. The globalization that began at this moment in human
history meant that wars in contemporary times affected everyone.

In all these moments it was especially the European continent that appeared prominently in
history. It is clear that in all other continents there were populations making wars, as well as
science and culture, but the Eurocentric character of human history determined that the
circumstances generated in this continent had their reflections in other civilizations in some
way. https://www.infoescola.com/historia/guerra-mundial.

3. FIRST WORLD WAR (1914-1918)

The First World War was the result of the clash in the wars that preceded it, and its result was so
catastrophic that there was a need for the creation of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 to seal the
peace and end the war. Other intense wars took place after this conflict, such as the Russian Civil
War in 1922 and the Spanish Civil War in 1939, impact was such a size that, as Hobsbawn
states:

For those who grew up before 1914, the contrast was so striking that many - including the
generation of this historian's parents, or at least of its members Europeans - refused to see
any continuity with the past. "peace" meant “before 1914”: after that came something that
no longer sounded like that name. (HOBSBAWN, 1994, p.30.).

3.1. SECOND WORLD WAR

The consequences of the war were enormous and still left in the air the tense environment that
would allow another global scale confrontation a few years later, the Second World War. In 1939
a new war breaks out as a result of issues and instabilities unresolved in the previous conflict.
But this time the scope of the war is even greater, the continents all have a greater participation.

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In 1945 the war ends as a result of a new technology that would leave humanity in a state of
tension forever, nuclear weapons. The destructive capacity of an atomic bomb made it clear that
if a new world-wide conflict involving weapons of this type happened, human life would be
doomed to disappear from the face of the earth.

These two events of the 20th century were named after their endings of World War I and World
War II. After the completion of the latter, a new confrontation was established, the Cold War.
This faced the capitalist bloc in the world, under the leadership of the United States, and the
socialist bloc, under the leadership of the Union of Socialist and Soviet Republics (USSR).

The name Cold War was given because the two main winners of the Second World War had
much improved weapons, which if put into practice could mean the destruction of both of them
and of a good part of humanity, which transferred the war from battlefields to ideological
conflicts. . However, there were some battlefield conflicts that had the ideological participation
of the United States and the Soviet Union.

Among all the existing conflicts during the Cold War (Korean War, Hungarian Revolution, Suez
War and Vietnam War), the event that came closest to generating a new world war was the
Missile Crisis of 1962.

The Soviet Union was caught building nuclear silos in Cuba, on the Central American island
there was still a set of missiles aimed at the United States in retaliation for those deployed in
Turkey aimed at the Soviet Union. The situation caused great instability and tension, since the
armament had improved even more and the possible outbreak of a new world war would not
forgive any country.

Today, after the end of the Cold War, it is biological weapons that scare humanity. These are
capable of decimating large numbers of people through simple measures. But the great tension
that exists today is between the Eastern and Western worlds. It turns out that most of the attacks
generated by Orientals are due to terrorist attacks, which is very difficult to predict and can
happen anywhere in the world and at any time. But countries like Iran and North Korea insist on
building their nuclear weapons and expanding the framework of tension.

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4. WARE AND IMPACT IN THE WORLD

4.1. IMPACTS OF WAR ON THE ENVIROMNMENT

The impacts of war act on a direct and little evidenced victim: the environment. Bombings,
missile launches, tank movements and the destruction of infrastructure cause destruction in
nature. In fact, the impacts occur even before the war starts. There is a high demand for natural
resources to supply troops and sustain military forces. And the long-term consequences for
people and nature are countless.

4.2. DEATHS

World War was an event that drastically affected the population levels of the countries involved,
whether they emerged victorious or defeated. According to estimates, during the four years of
conflict 8 million people were killed. Germany was the country with the highest number of
human casualties, with 1.9 million soldiers killed. Next is Russia, 1.7 million; France, 1.4
million; Austria-Hungary, 1 million; and England with 760 thousand.

In addition to the high number of deaths, the war left 20 million wounded and 6 million disabled.
Although it appears as the most immediate consequence of the conflict, the loss of such large
numbers of people also has short- and long-term implications. In this sense, it is important to
emphasize that the countries had a decline, mainly, in the economically active male population.
And this has implications for the economy that needed to be recovered, since during the conflict
all attention was focused on combating enemies.

4.3. ECONOMIC AND POLITIC INSTABILITY

Still within the scope of the consequences of World War, it is worth highlighting the post-
conflict European decline. In addition to human losses, the countries involved in the war suffered
considerable material losses. With that, Europe leaves the place of hegemony that it had in the
world panorama and passes to a situation of economic dependence. In the post-war period,
England, which was the greatest economic power, loses its place to the United States.

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Another country that benefited from European instability was Japan. While European countries
faced problems in restructuring the agricultural and industrial sector, Asia, without competition,
had a clear path to invest in the diversification and stimulation of its industrial activity. The US,
which had already profited from trading with the Allies during the war, increased its gold
reserves in the post-conflict period and now holds approximately half of the metal available in
the world.

A war inevitably has negative consequences for the economy. National level, primarily due to
the loss of human resources (by death or disease) and of material resources or diversion in their
use.

ARMIÑO (1997:22) states that the diversion of public resources for military purposes makes
these no longer available for investment in the economic and social development. This is also the
position of COLLIER & HOEFFLER (1998:169) who point out the fun of public spending in
activities that enhance output for military action.

This type of consequences is usually measured by accounting for military expenses incurred
during the war. According to COLLIER et al. (2003:14), countries with a GDPpc below USD
3,000 tend to spend 2.8% of GDP on military expenditure in peacetime. When a war starts, this
value increases to 5%, bringing down public expenditure allocated to sectors such as health and
infrastructures and aggravating the income and the levels of the indicators social.

The withdrawal of productive resources is accompanied by a reduction in the labor force.

productive work due to the exodus of the population, and by a disturbance of the commercial
circulation due to the lack of security and the existence of mines antipersonnel weapons in the
country at war, according to ARMIÑO (1997:22).

The economic consequences of war are also measured by the damage caused in the resources and
by its removal from the productive activities, which are part of the rebels' strategy, as stated by
COLLIER et al. (2003:14). An example of this is the destruction of infrastructure such as
bridges, airports, ports, telecommunications, schools, health facilities.

Fear provoked by violence is also included in the list of consequences economic aspects of the
report by COLLIER et al. (2003:15), considering that the frightened populations flee their homes

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and abandon their possessions, leaving them at the mercy of the opportunistic behavior of
criminals. In the case of rural populations, there is still the abandonment of agricultural
production.

Moreover, the displacement of populations is not only a consequence of war, but also, according
to ARMIÑO (1997:21), a pernicious tactic oriented for the control of the potentially hostile
population, which, forced to rely on protected villages or in safe areas, you can no longer support
the enemy.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is perhaps the most affected economic indicator by the war.
According to a study by COLLIER & HOEFFLER (1998:181-182), during the war, GDP per
capita declines at an annual rate of 2.2%, due to the decrease in production and the gradual loss
of the stock of capital through the destruction of capital or its replacement abroad. However,
these effects differ from sector to sector, with the capital and transaction intensive sector
(transport, distribution and finance) is contracting faster than GDP in as a whole, while the sector
with opposite characteristics (farming of subsistence) expands relative to GDP.

The adverse effects of the war on the economy continue to be registered in the post-war period,
since, according to COLLIER & HOEFFLER (1998:181-182), the restoration of peace does not
recreate the characteristics of the economy before the war. So the capital stock is lower than
before the war and its decline could even continue post-war41 In deed, the range of economic
consequences of the civil war extends to beyond its end. As stated by COLLIER et al. (2003:20),
“the truth is that many of the adverse economic effects of the war persist, with the high military
expenditures in the post-war period, justified as a peace dividend”.

4.4. THE SOCIAL IMPACTS

The main social consequences of war are the casualties, which, in the war modern civil society,
are mainly civilian populations. According to COLLIER et al. (2003:17), the greatest impact
shifted from military personnel to civilian populations.

CAIRNS (1997) indicates that, at the beginning of the 20th century, 90% of the victims were
military, while in the 90's, almost 90% of the victims became civilians. SMITH (2003:38) adds
that 75% of the people killed in the wars of the days are civil Since it is not possible to know the

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exact number of deaths caused by war, it is estimated that, between 1997 and 2002 alone, more
than three millions of people.

As SMITH (2003:38) indicates, this number represents less than two and a half million deaths
compared to estimates of what occurred in the first half of the 1990s. Note that these numbers
exclude those who, without losing their lives, were victims of atrocities unimaginable, have been
hit by anti-personnel mines or have been forced to move to another region of the country or to
neighboring countries.

As an example, SMITH (2003:40-41) mentions that, in East Timor, about than 2000 civilians
were killed by Indonesian-instigated militias in 1999, before the country's independence was
accepted, and that 2/3 were forced to leave their homes. In Rwanda, Hutu government extremists
prepared a massacre against the Tutsi minority and against regime opponents between April and
June 1994, having been killed by militias and military trained, in a period of six weeks, 800,000
people.

Those who survived the genocide, virtually all women over 12 years were violated. Finally, in
Peru, between 1980 and 1999, more than 30,000 people due to the war, more than 80% of which
are civilians. In this case, the Government was responsible for just over half of the cases of
torture, disappearance, execution and assassination, and the rebel forces for the remainder.

4.4. The Psychological Consequences

Most modern conflicts are endemic, that is, they last for periods of time so vast that populations
do not go through the post-war or post-crisis situation. Faced with this scenario, COLLIER et al.
(2003:30) underline that the consequences at a psychological level are dramatic for populations;
in As war survivors lose family, friends, life and, sometimes the identity itself. They live in
refugee camps and continue to be victims of violence and rape, which causes an increase in
female suicide rate.

MUSCAT (2002:8) expresses its concern with the fact that the conflict and victimization can
produce a culture of criminal impunity and violence, sometimes associated with the problem of
demobilized soldiers and unemployed.

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In addition, AGERBACK (1996:28) adds that it is difficult to recover the trust and social
cohesion needed for post-war recovery when large part of the population was affected by the
trauma.

In the face of all this, says MUSCAT (2002:8), post-conflict reconstruction programs now
include the creation or strengthening of health services mental health, as well as the
implementation of projects that try to encourage coexistence of different ethnic communities and
even reconcile them.

SUMMERFIELD (1996:88) considers it essential to always have a crisis management response

that should, in principle, go through the creation and support of structures that help populations
to survive, being, in this perspective, NGO intervention is fundamental.

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CONCLUSION

Wars are armed conflicts that happen for different reasons, such as religious disagreements,
political and economic interests, territorial disputes, ethnic rivalries, among other reasons.

War refers, in its most common sense, to armed struggle or war between two or more nations or
bands. It implies the breaking of a state of peace and gives rise to a confrontation with all kinds
of weapons, which usually causes a high number of deaths. ANTONIO G. JUNIOR (UFJF,
2013).

World War is a conflict capable of affecting all countries in some way. There has never actually
been a war with the military involvement of all countries, but the involvement of countries of
preponderance on the planet generates economic and political consequences that affect the
general order.

The concept of “World War” is something that carries with it the stigma of contemporaneity, the
expression is well applied to the times of globalization. Humanity has gone through numerous
wars, small or large scale, from Ancient History to the present day, but the moments of human
history have determined the repercussions of conflicts. It is clear that every war has human,
economic, social and political losses as an invariable consequence, but the dimension they
assume is closely linked to their historical moment.

13
BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES

ARMIÑO, Karlos (1997), Post-war rehabilitation guide. The process of Mozambique and the
contribution of NGOs. Hegoa. Faculty of Economic Sciences. Basque Country, pp.193.

UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) (2000), The situation of refugees in
the world 2000.

COLLIER, Paul (1999), “On the economic consequences of war” in Oxfam Economic Papers 51,
pp.168-183.

COLLIER, Paul et al. (2003), Breaking the conflict trap. civil war and development policy.
World Bank. Washington, pp.222.

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