deadly quarrels

8/6/2019 Deadly Quarrels

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From Inter-personal Fights to Inter-

State Conflicts (War)

Generalizations On Human

Conflicts conflicts differ in their complexity andimportance, in the strategies to which they give

rise, and in the solutions to which they lead(contention or yielding or conflict-avoidance or

problem-solving)Conflicts at theinterpersonal, intergroup, inter-organizational,

and international level are not the same.Nevertheless, we believe it is possible to developgeneralizations that cut across, and shed light

on, most or all conflicts

Pruitt and Kim, 2004

Linking all Human Conflicts

In his studies of war and violence,Lewis Richardson linkedinternational and domestic conflictsin his data set of DeadlyQuarrels. By deadly quarrels, hemeant any human quarrel whichcaused deaths to their participants.This definition directs the study ofhuman conflict beyondinternational wars alone andsuggest that any dead quarrel iswithin the ambit of conflict-studies,whether it is war, between states,

civil wars within states, violencebetween criminal bands, guerrillawar and even murders.

Implications Influenced by psychology and

disdainful of the study of

international politics, Richardson

saw all human killings, whether it

is an act of an individual crime,

revolution, or war, as steaming

from one causehuman

aggression. Therefore, for

Richardson, the only difference

between wars and other forms of

deadly quarrels are their magnitudein terms of numbers of casualties

(deaths and wounded)

Implications of the Definition There is some presumption that

violent (deadly conflicts) havesome characteristics in commonwhich are not shared with non-deadly conflicts such as loversquarrel, strikes, trade wars.

Quarrels which result in deathinvolve moral issues of a differentorder of magnitude from thosewhich is not. Thus, at theindividual level, murder isconsidered a crime in mostsocieties. However, at theinternational level, large-scalemurders like war and evengenocide are tolerated and evenloried.

Pattern of Escalation from

Stability to Deadly Quarrel

Peaceful

stable

situation

Political

tension

situation

Political

Crisis

Low-

Intensity

conflict

High-

Intensity

conflict

Political

stability

legitimacy

Systemic

strain/

Political

Cleavage

Erosion of

the regime

legitimacy/

emergence

of faction

Open

hostility/

repression,

Destruction

of human

lives/

properties


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What are deadly quarrels?

Conflicts that involved thedeliberate infliction ofphysical injury or deathon one person or group ofpeople by another.

Among states, violence isi n t e r p r e t e d a s a ninstrument with which toachieve something else, isbased on the notion thatv i o l e n c e i s u s e dinstrumentally for therational pursuit of a goal.

Elements of Deadly Quarrel

They involve the use of force or coercionand should be distinguished from non-

violent conflicts such as strikes, trade wars,

sanctions, or trade embargo.

They result to deaths or injuries.

Social Situations That Result to Deaths

Accident a situationthat caused deathswithout any intention.

Genocidedeliberateattempt by one group ofpeople to physicallyeliminate another. Theviolence is inflicted byanother with very little

reciprocal violence bythe weaker side.

Situations

S o ma t i c V i o l e n c e t h e

unavoidable deaths caused by the

structure of society, i.e. inequality

in resources, lack of medical

services , epidemic , famine ,

pestilence.

Types of Conflict(According to the use of Violence)

Face-to Face Murder,gang

wars,criminal acts.

Family quarrel,lovers quarrel

Political (Impersonal) Interstate wars,

revolutionary guerrilla

warfare.

Strike, trade-wars,diplomatic negotiations,

Inter-State Conflicts

War is organized violence carried on bypolitical units against each other.

This definition of war as a contest ofarms between sovereign states is derived

from the post-1448 experience, as well

from the Cold War.


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War as Organized Violence

War is ordered activity with rules andcustoms.

War is not random violence, it is focusedand directed.

It is a collective and social, not an individualactivity.

War as a Form of Violence

It is carried out in the name of an organizedand legitimate political unit.

It should be employed by the state againstanother state.

War as Organized

I t s h o u l d b eorganized violencewaged by a sovereignstate.

The concept of war was anoutcome of a long historicalprocess of limiting the wide-

scale use of violence.

Assumptions about War

War is learned. War is a result if a long-term process. There is no

such thing as an accidental war.

War is a product of interactions and not a result ofsystemic factors.

War is a means of making political decision. War is a multi-causal phenomenon.

War is Learned War can be conceived as a

learned behavior in twosenses:

A collective learned to makewar as a general practice thatis available to them as ameans of resolving disputes;

War is an appropriateresponse to other humancollectives given a particularsituation.

War Results from a long-term

Process of Political Interactions

Wars are generatedfrom long-term political

relationship that has

become intractable,

conflictive, hostile, and

eventually violent.


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Wars are Products of Political

Interactions, not Simply of Systemic

Conditions Wars become more likely when

the sequence of diplomatic

actions fail to resolve highly

salient issues, resulting in an

increase in the level of

conflictive actions, and which inturn increase psychological

hostility between political actors.

This process produces a kind of

relationship between two

countries that is prone to

conflictive actions leading to a

militarized dispute.

Wars are Means of Resolving

Political Disputes War serves as a allocation

mechanism or a set offormal and informalrules/devices/actions formaking and

implementing politicaldecisions. It an organizedforce that resolves issueson the basis of the powerand determination of thecontending politicalactors.

Wars are Multi-Causal Phenomena

Wars can be generated byseveral distinct causalpaths or causal sequences.This accounts for theneed to understand thevarious typologies of war.Understanding the causesof wars requirescomprehending two setsof causality: a) necessary

(underlying); and b)sufficient (triggering).

Assumptions General

Typologies of War There are different types

of war.

Wars of rivalry (PeerConflicts)/wars of

inequality (Unequal

Conflict).

Institutionalized(limited)Wars/Total war

Limited versus Total Wars

Features Limited Wars National/Total

Issues and Stakes Fought generally overmarginal borderquestions andcomparatively minorchanges in thedisposition of stakes

(economic, strategic,or colonial advantages)

Far-reaching territorialand ideologicaldemands, hegemonicclaims, or fundamentalchanges in the globalorder, and the rules of

the global society.

Wars of Inequality Relative Parity among the

Parties can be measured in

terms of

Capabilityamount ofresources the belligerents

can utilize to achieve its

strategic goals.

Reputation and statusPertains to the parties

respective positions in the

global hierarchy of power.


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Typologies of War Wars of Equality Wars of

Inequality

(asymmetric)

Institutionalized/

Limited Wars

China-U.S. War during

the Korean War;

China-Soviet Union

1969; Crimean WarRussia, France, and

U.K. Japan-China War

of 1896. UK-Argentina

1982;India-China 1962

China-Vietnam War of

1979;

Soviet Union-Finland

1939-40; U.S.-North

Korea 1950-1953.

Anatomy of a Militarized Interstate Conflict

The External Environment( Stability, norms,power distribution, alignment pattern, third party)

Characteristics of a Dispute (Issue and pattern ofevolution)

Characteristics of the disputants (proximity,power/capabilities, domestic stability, ties, role,

prior conflict experience, and risk propensity)

Issues that Generated Wars(1648-1991)

PeriodGeneral Characteristics of

Wars

Issues that Generated Wars

Immediate post-Westpahalia

1648-1700

States were willing to limit

their claims and the use of force

for its sake.

Territorial (12%)

Commercial Navigation (8%)

Dynastic (7%)

Strategic (5%)

State Survival (5%)

The Classical Balance of

Power System

1715-1814

War became then primarily of

a great power activity and

became intermingled.

Territory (39%)

Commercial Navigation (13%)

Dynastic Issues (8%)

Strategic Territory (6%)

The Concert of Europe & thePeriod of Congress

1815-1914

There was an attempt to createa system to check or regulate

ambitions but this had little

i m p a ct o n t h e n a t i o n a l

liberation movements.

Maintain integrity of integrity ofState Empire (18%)

Territorial (13%)

N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n / S t a t e

Creation (9%)

National Unification (8%)

PeriodGeneral Characteristics of

Wars

Issues that Generated Wars

Post World War I

1919-1941

There was a problem in terms

of settlement between the

belligerents of the Great War,

and the need to create

international institutions that

w o u l d g u a r a n t e e t h e

preservation of settlement and

prevent wars.

Territorial (14%)

State Survival (11%)

Enforce Treaty (9%)

Maintain Integrity of State/empire

(9%)

Commerce/resources (6%)

Post World War II

1945-1991

The forms of armed combat

have diversified to the point

where one can no longer speak

of war as a single institution of

the state system. The use of

force for political purposesrange from intifadas, terrorism,

guerrilla wars, peacekeeping,

conventional war.

Govt Composition (16%)

National Liberation (16%)

Maintain Integrity (16%)

Territorial (14%)

State/Regime Survival (12%)

National Unification (10%)

Issues

Expected-Political Utility of War

War as an instrument of nationalpolicy, a means by which a states

objective is attained.

Basic determinant of how theinternational system is shaped.

Determinant of polarity.

Expected Political Utility of War

Enforcing international law.

Preserving the balance of power.

Means of promoting changes in the

international system


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Led to state-formation andexpansion.

Triggered internal conflicts orrevolution.

Fostered societal learningpatterns.

Triggered non-constitutionalchanges in government anddemocratization.

War and Its Impact on Socio-Political

Conditions

- Destruction of land, labor, and capital.- Diversion of civilian skills and resources

to military purposes.

- Diversion of investments for futuregrowth purposes to more immediateconsumption.

Economic Implications of War

(Negative)

Economic Implications (Positive)

Economic growth (state expansion and level ofdevelopment)

Acceleration of technological innovation. Distribution of wealth. Centralization of the economy that can lead to

productivity gains.

The Phoenix factor.

Technology,industrializa t i o n , m a s sconscript ions , andnationalism led to theemergence of total warsin the 20th centuryFirst, Second, and the

Cold Wars.

Wars in the 20th Century: From

Institutionalized to Total War

Total Wars

Wars in the first part of the 20th century

were marked by unconditional surrender,

massive destruction, deliberate targeting

of non-military targets, and impositions of

new socio-economic systems on conquered

states by the victors.

War as a natural calamity. War as an unfortunate accident.

Changing Perception Toward Wars

War as a voluntary human activity (the ultimate contest).War as a pathological aberration that must be cured. Wasis a disease.


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What is peace?

Peace is not the mere absence of war.

Peace is a situation that needs to be

created. Peace must be defined as a

situation in which the probability of

war is so remote that it does not really

enter in to the calculations of any of

the states involved in the dispute.

Conditions for Peace

A higher expectation of utility and gains from peace thanwar.

A civic culture. A commitment to the peaceful resolution of disputes. An ethical code that guides international relations. Mutual legitimatization; A social-communicative process. Shared trust. A collective purpose and social identity among states

Security Community.

Changing Nature of International

Conflicts

Since 1945, there have been approximately100 wars.

Only 17 were fought by states on bothsides.

9 of these 17 wars took place in just tworegions (South Asia and the Middle East)

Transformation of War

Most conflicts are of an intra-statenature-decolonization wars, civil war,

secession wars, state terror and

terrorism.

These are considered war of the ThirdKind. They are organized violence

that have to do with ideology/or the

nature of community, rather than state

interests.

Experience with three total wars in the 20th century. The development of nuclear weapons. Stratification of the military powersthere is only one

superpower.

Conventional warfare has become a very expensiveaffair.

Emergence of global norms against territorialconquest and subjugation.

Immediate Causes of the Transformation

Revolutionary Warfare,

Secession, Civil War, and

Terrorism

deadly quarrels

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