Chapter 5
International Conflict
Minimum definition of war: minimum 1000 battle death- to distinguish war from lower-
level violence such as violent strikes or riots.
Hegemonic war is a war over control of the entire world order—the rules of the
international system as a whole, including the role of world hegemony. This class of wars is
also known as world war, global war, general war, or systemic war.
Total war is warfare by one state waged to conquer and occupy another. The goal is to
reach the capital city and force the surrender of the government, which can then be replaced
with one of the victor’s choosing
Limited war includes military actions carried out to gain some objective short of the
surrender and occupation of the enemy.
Raids are limited wars that consist of a single action—a bombing run or a quick incursion by
land. Raids fall into the gray area between wars and non-wars because their destruction is
limited and they are over quickly.
Guerrilla war, which includes certain kinds of civil wars, is warfare without front lines.
Irregular forces operate in the midst of, and often hidden or protected by, civilian
populations. The purpose is not to directly confront an enemy army but rather to harass
and punish it so as to gradually limit its operation and effectively liberate territory from
its control. Rebels in most civil wars use such methods. Often the government controls a
town by day and the guerrillas by night. Thus, guerrilla wars are extremely painful for
civilians, who suffer most when no military force firmly controls a location, opening the door
to banditry, personal vendettas, sexual violence, and other such lawless behavior. The
situation is doubly painful because conventional armies fighting against guerrillas often
cannot distinguish them from civilians and punish both together.
In several countries where long internal wars in the 1990s had led to dehumanization and
atrocities—notably in South Africa—new governments used truth commissions to help the
society heal and move forward. The commission’s role was to hear honest testimony from the
period, to bring to light what really happened during these wars, and in exchange to offer
most of the participants asylum from punishment
Theories of the causes of War
The term conflict in IR generally refers to armed conflict. Conflict itself is ever present in the
international system—the condition against which bargaining takes place.
The Individual Level On the individual level of analysis, theories about war center
on rationality. One theory, consistent with realism, holds that the use of war and
other violent means of leverage in international conflicts is normal and reflects
rational decisions of national leaders. “Wars begin with conscious and reasoned
decisions based on the calculation, made by both parties, that they can achieve more
, by going to war than by remaining at peace.”
An opposite theory holds that conflicts often escalate to war because of deviations
from rationality in the individual decision-making processes of national leaders. A
related theory holds that the education and mentality of whole populations of
individuals determine whether conflicts become violent.
The Domestic Level The domestic level of analysis draws attention to the
characteristics of states or societies that may make them more or less prone to use
violence in resolving conflicts. Some argue that domestic political factors shape a
state’s outlook on war and peace. For example, the democratic peace suggests that
democracies almost never fight other democracies (see Chapter 3), although both
democracies and authoritarian states fight wars.
The Interstate Level Theories at the interstate level explain wars in terms of power
relations among major actors in the international system. For example, power
transition theory holds that conflicts generate large wars at times when power is
relatively equally distributed and a rising power is threatening to overtake a declining
hegemon in overall position.
The Global Level At the global level of analysis, a number of theories of war have
been proposed. Of the several variations on the idea that major warfare in the
international system is cyclical, one approach links large wars with long economic
waves. These cycle theories at best can explain only general tendencies toward war in
the international system over time.
Conflict of Ideas: The following sections discuss six types of international conflict: ethnic,
religious, ideological, territorial, governmental, and economic. The first three are conflicts
over ideas, the last three conflicts over interests. These six types of conflict are not mutually
exclusive, and they overlap considerably in practice.
Nationalism—devotion to the interests of one’s own nation over the interests of other states
—may be the most important force in world politics in the past two centuries. A nation is a
population that shares an identity, usually including a language and culture. But
nationality is a difficult concept to define precisely.
The principle of self-determination implies that people who identify as a nation should
have the right to form a state and exercise sovereignty over their affairs. Self-
determination is a widely praised principle in international affairs today (although not
historically). But it is generally secondary to the principles of sovereignty (noninterference in
other states’ internal affairs) and territorial integrity, with which it frequently conflicts. Self-
determination does not give groups the right to change international borders, even those
imposed arbitrarily by colonialism, in order to unify a group with a com- mon national
identity. Generally, though not always, self-determination has been achieved by violence.
1. Ethnic Conflict: Ethnic conflict is quite possibly the most important source of
conflict in the numerous wars now occurring throughout the world. Ethnic groups
are large groups of people who share ancestral, language, cultural, or religious ties
and a common identity (individuals identify with the group).
Territorial control is closely tied to the aspirations of ethnic groups for statehood. Any state’s
International Conflict
Minimum definition of war: minimum 1000 battle death- to distinguish war from lower-
level violence such as violent strikes or riots.
Hegemonic war is a war over control of the entire world order—the rules of the
international system as a whole, including the role of world hegemony. This class of wars is
also known as world war, global war, general war, or systemic war.
Total war is warfare by one state waged to conquer and occupy another. The goal is to
reach the capital city and force the surrender of the government, which can then be replaced
with one of the victor’s choosing
Limited war includes military actions carried out to gain some objective short of the
surrender and occupation of the enemy.
Raids are limited wars that consist of a single action—a bombing run or a quick incursion by
land. Raids fall into the gray area between wars and non-wars because their destruction is
limited and they are over quickly.
Guerrilla war, which includes certain kinds of civil wars, is warfare without front lines.
Irregular forces operate in the midst of, and often hidden or protected by, civilian
populations. The purpose is not to directly confront an enemy army but rather to harass
and punish it so as to gradually limit its operation and effectively liberate territory from
its control. Rebels in most civil wars use such methods. Often the government controls a
town by day and the guerrillas by night. Thus, guerrilla wars are extremely painful for
civilians, who suffer most when no military force firmly controls a location, opening the door
to banditry, personal vendettas, sexual violence, and other such lawless behavior. The
situation is doubly painful because conventional armies fighting against guerrillas often
cannot distinguish them from civilians and punish both together.
In several countries where long internal wars in the 1990s had led to dehumanization and
atrocities—notably in South Africa—new governments used truth commissions to help the
society heal and move forward. The commission’s role was to hear honest testimony from the
period, to bring to light what really happened during these wars, and in exchange to offer
most of the participants asylum from punishment
Theories of the causes of War
The term conflict in IR generally refers to armed conflict. Conflict itself is ever present in the
international system—the condition against which bargaining takes place.
The Individual Level On the individual level of analysis, theories about war center
on rationality. One theory, consistent with realism, holds that the use of war and
other violent means of leverage in international conflicts is normal and reflects
rational decisions of national leaders. “Wars begin with conscious and reasoned
decisions based on the calculation, made by both parties, that they can achieve more
, by going to war than by remaining at peace.”
An opposite theory holds that conflicts often escalate to war because of deviations
from rationality in the individual decision-making processes of national leaders. A
related theory holds that the education and mentality of whole populations of
individuals determine whether conflicts become violent.
The Domestic Level The domestic level of analysis draws attention to the
characteristics of states or societies that may make them more or less prone to use
violence in resolving conflicts. Some argue that domestic political factors shape a
state’s outlook on war and peace. For example, the democratic peace suggests that
democracies almost never fight other democracies (see Chapter 3), although both
democracies and authoritarian states fight wars.
The Interstate Level Theories at the interstate level explain wars in terms of power
relations among major actors in the international system. For example, power
transition theory holds that conflicts generate large wars at times when power is
relatively equally distributed and a rising power is threatening to overtake a declining
hegemon in overall position.
The Global Level At the global level of analysis, a number of theories of war have
been proposed. Of the several variations on the idea that major warfare in the
international system is cyclical, one approach links large wars with long economic
waves. These cycle theories at best can explain only general tendencies toward war in
the international system over time.
Conflict of Ideas: The following sections discuss six types of international conflict: ethnic,
religious, ideological, territorial, governmental, and economic. The first three are conflicts
over ideas, the last three conflicts over interests. These six types of conflict are not mutually
exclusive, and they overlap considerably in practice.
Nationalism—devotion to the interests of one’s own nation over the interests of other states
—may be the most important force in world politics in the past two centuries. A nation is a
population that shares an identity, usually including a language and culture. But
nationality is a difficult concept to define precisely.
The principle of self-determination implies that people who identify as a nation should
have the right to form a state and exercise sovereignty over their affairs. Self-
determination is a widely praised principle in international affairs today (although not
historically). But it is generally secondary to the principles of sovereignty (noninterference in
other states’ internal affairs) and territorial integrity, with which it frequently conflicts. Self-
determination does not give groups the right to change international borders, even those
imposed arbitrarily by colonialism, in order to unify a group with a com- mon national
identity. Generally, though not always, self-determination has been achieved by violence.
1. Ethnic Conflict: Ethnic conflict is quite possibly the most important source of
conflict in the numerous wars now occurring throughout the world. Ethnic groups
are large groups of people who share ancestral, language, cultural, or religious ties
and a common identity (individuals identify with the group).
Territorial control is closely tied to the aspirations of ethnic groups for statehood. Any state’s
