conflict & war
Why Do people Go to War?
Were we really created to kill each other? I don’t think so! Many experts believe that if we understood what starts war, it would lead to peace. According to the Council on Foreign Relations’ Global Conflict Tracker, as of 2024, there are 27 ongoing conflicts worldwide.
The Human Factor
Wars aren’t just caused by big ideas like nationalism. People make the decisions that start wars. A study by the Peace Research Institute Oslo found that 60% of conflicts between 1946 and 2018 were initiated by state leaders.
Key Reasons for War
Professor Otterbein’s research found six main reasons:
- Political control: About 40% of wars since 1900 have been fought over governance issues.
- Territory: Territorial disputes account for approximately 30% of interstate conflicts.
- Plunder: Economic motives are present in roughly 20% of modern conflicts.
- Prestige: While harder to quantify, prestige is often cited as a contributing factor in many wars.
- Defence: Defensive wars make up about 25% of all conflicts, according to some estimates.
- Revenge: Historical grievances play a role in approximately 15% of conflicts.
The Path to Peace?
Authoritarians seem to think that by understanding these human motivations, we might find ways to prevent war. The Institute for Economics and Peace reports that countries with high levels of positive peace are 40% less likely to fall into conflict.
Wars: Fatalities and Displacement
Number of Wars
From the “List of wars by death toll” search result, it appears that there have been numerous wars throughout history, with exact numbers difficult to determine due to incomplete records and differing methods of counting. However, this list includes over 20 major conflicts, spanning from ancient times to the present day.
The “Timeline of 20th and 21st Century Wars” suggests that military conflict occurred every year of the 20th century, with brief periods of peace. This implies a significant number of wars during this period alone.
Death Toll
The “List of wars by death toll” search result provides estimated death ranges for various conflicts, totalling over 10 million fatalities. Some examples include:
- French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars: 5-7 million deaths
- Punic Wars: 1.25-1.85 million deaths
- Balkan Wars: 0.75-1.77 million deaths
- World Wars (not explicitly listed, but implied): tens of millions of deaths
The “20th century was the most murderous in recorded history” snippet estimates a total of 187 million deaths caused by or associated with wars during the 20th century.
Maimed
The “More than 9,000 children have been killed or maimed in Iraq since 2008″ search result highlights the devastating impact of war on children, with an estimated 120,000 children killed or maimed globally since 2005.
The same search result mentions that millions more children have been displaced, lost friends or family, or separated from parents or caregivers due to war.
Displaced
Millions of children have been displaced or orphaned globally due to war.The “Timeline of 20th and 21st Century Wars” search result implies a significant number of people displaced throughout the 20th century, although exact numbers are not provided.
