Causes Of War

Question 1

Self defence

Answer 1

• To defend your own country against attack – for example in World War 2 the Battle of Britain prevented a German invasion.
• To defend a way of life – for example the American Civil War was fought because the Southern States wanted to continue keeping slaves. The Cold War happened between Russia and America because Russia was communist and America was capitalist, and both countries were defending their way of living.
• To defend your beliefs – this is open to debate as religion is often blamed for war, but the causes are often more complex, and religion only exacerbates the situation. For example the war between Israel and Palestine is really about land, but because there are Jews on one side and Muslims on the other, both believe that they are fighting with God on their side which has made them more determined.

Question 2

Retaliation

Answer 2

• Throughout history wars have caused enormous loss of life and destroyed the infrastructure so that countries take a long time to recover. All this has made it likely that people want revenge, and are looking for an excuse to retaliate against their old enemies.
• For example Hitler came to power, and people supported him, because Germany had lost World War 1 after so many of their young men died. They were punished harshly in the peace treaty after the war, so the population became very poor. When Hitler invaded Europe, people believed that this would make Germany great again, and they could ‘get their own back’ on the countries which had treated them so badly.
• The war against Afghanistan was an act of retaliation after 9/11. America believed that the government of Afghanistan was sheltering the terrorists who planned the attack.

Question 3

Greed

Answer 3

• When Britain was building her empire, many wars were fought to gain land and resources, for example we fought against the Boers (Dutch settlers in South Africa) because their land was rich in diamonds and gold.

Question 4

Scripture

Answer 4

• If fighting for land and resources ‘The love of money is the root of all evil’ (Romans)
• If fighting for revenge (retaliation) ‘Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right’ (Romans)