He studied several countries that suffer from armed conflicts and others suffer from guerrilla wars
A political scientist reviews the roots of conflicts and peace strategies in the world
Sudan suffered a long war.
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Plattman in his book "Why We Fight: The Roots of War and the Ways of Peace" provides an in-depth look at the causes of wars.
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The escalation of armed conflicts, civil wars and transnational wars constituted a burden on the peoples of the world, and a threat to global stability and peace.
The Russian-Ukrainian war, and its various effects, is the best evidence of the repercussions of contemporary wars, and their multiple costs on humanity, which necessitates the need to consider the causes of wars and conflicts, the factors of their exacerbation, and the decline in the ability to settle them.
The political and economic scientist, Christopher Plattman, in his book "Why We Fight: The Roots of War and the Ways of Peace", presented an in-depth view of the causes of wars, and the different ways in which peace is established between cultures and societies.
The researcher studied several countries that suffer from armed conflicts, such as Sudan, and others, and other regions suffer from various guerrilla wars.
Causes of war
The outbreak of wars is due to various reasons, differing according to the context and specific circumstances of each case, but the writer has enumerated the common denominators and causes that can be said to be a general umbrella for the outbreak of wars between states and groups, whether they are national wars, civil wars, ethnic conflicts or guerrilla wars.
Confronting the conflict and establishing peace requires a real understanding of the motives behind it, and it can be said that these reasons are reflected in the following:
Leaders’ self-interest: This reason is one of the pillars of the outbreak of wars in light of the narrow and personal accounts of leaders, which may not necessarily correspond to the requirements of society, which pushes countries and groups to engage in long-term conflicts, and this reason is not related to the democracy of political systems or not, but rather results in a way In light of this, the writer points to the case of Liberia, which witnessed a bloody conflict in 1989, with a desire to dominate and control the wealth and natural resources.
Intangible incentives and maximizing ideology: Belonging to a particular ideology, whether religious, cultural or intellectual, or intolerance to a particular sect, is an incentive for groups within society to align with violence, conflict and wars in exchange for rejecting peace, as is the case of the American rebellion against Britain in light of the increasing pace of the new private ideology With self-determination, as well as Adolf Hitler's efforts to spread his ideology during World War II on a larger scale, in order to preserve his claim about German sex.
Differences in material and moral advantages: Wars erupt due to the desire for one party to acquire the material or moral advantages enjoyed by the other, which prompts rulers to activate various alliances and mass mobilization of forces to prepare for war with the other party. Wars begin when the warring countries differ on their relative strength. .
Imbalance and commitment: One of the motives behind a country using violence and declaring war on another country is the state of fear and anticipation of the imbalance of power with this opponent, as evidenced by the case of the US military invasion of Iraq in 2003, which was mainly caused by Western fears of Iraq developing its arsenal. The military situation, as the state of competition and the aspirations of countries to expand the possession of power and prestige through competition with the surrounding powers, a motive behind the outbreak of conflicts, due to the miscalculation of the capabilities and components of the target countries, and the writer believes that the problem of commitment is the biggest obstacle to settling civil wars.
Wrong estimations of mutual forces: One of the reasons attributed to the outbreak of war lies in misconceptions and estimations regarding the opponent’s strength, and the ability of the international community to address any future imbalance between the parties to the conflict. Which eventually leads to an increase in misunderstanding on the other side, as the lack of information contradicts the paths to achieving peace. Here, the “Seven Years’ War” is a model for that reason, especially as it took place between most European countries between 1756 and 1763 against the background of expansion, which led This has also emerged in the case of the US invasion of Iraq. The Iraqi regime miscalculated the global situation, considering it implicitly that Russia and France - as permanent members of the Security Council - would not agree to the invasion of Iraq.
Peace Strategies
The writer developed a number of strategies for establishing peace and preventing the aggravation of conflicts and civil wars between states and groups, including:
Deterrence strategy: The absence of this strategy leads to the outbreak of wars, whatever their nature, and the writer gave an example of this with gang wars in Chicago, which lack a state of deterrence and the absence of responsibility before society, which motivates them to have a nature of violence and aggression in order to build a mental image around their capabilities.
On the other hand, deterrence reduces conflicts, which applies to the case of the United States inside Afghanistan, where it followed a supportive approach to building a reputation or a deterrent mental image about American military capabilities after the events of September 11, to be a warning and a warning to other countries and terrorist groups if they thought of attacking American lands.
Threat strategy: It affects the paths to establishing peace through the role played by international institutions and organizations concerned with peace through the threat of international sanctions or trials that are specific to these institutions, as is the case for the United Nations Security Council, which is an instrument of oversight and a means of cooperation between states. .
Accountability strategy: Given that the bias for war is subject to a set of different risks and benefits for leaders, and the conflict between the private interest and incentives of the leadership with the public interest, accountability may play an important role in controlling this imbalance. The interests of the rulers with the interests of the public, which achieves a measure of internal balance that contributes significantly to achieving peace.
Information strategy: It means the positive activation of diplomatic institutions and intelligence services within countries to communicate with other parties, in order to verify and process primary information, and obtain accurate assessments, which reduces the risks of war, as the lack of information conflicts with the chances of establishing peace.
Development strategy: It means that economic development and common commercial interests, and the developments brought about by globalization in the relations of countries with each other, are a factor in reducing conflict and wars, and the writer indicates this in the period before World War I, which spared Europe for about 100 years wars, given the fact that The industrial revolution brought about a change in ideas and different orientations, and there was economic development that created new social classes, as well as a catalyst for political rights.
In conclusion, the failure of states to achieve lasting peace and to resolve conflicts peacefully, does not mean that war is a common occurrence, but rather it is the exception and not the rule. To ensure adherence to the conventions and basic principles of the global system, to facilitate the exchange of information, and to open the window of dialogue and bargaining to reduce the risks of slipping into wars, while achieving societal development, and strengthening cooperation with civil society institutions to avoid misconceptions and negative frameworks for conflicts and wars.
One of the reasons for the outbreak of the war lies in misconceptions and estimates of the opponent's strength.
Wars erupt out of a desire for one side to gain the material or moral advantages of the other.
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