Civil War Flashcards
why is civil war a highly complex issue?
- conflicting definitions
- based on deep social divides of at least one party, religion, ethnicity or ideology
- Does it include race (Rwanda Hutu V Tutsis would not count)
- Does it include religion (Sunni V shia would not count)
What kind of identity can keep people together?
- religion
- language
(note *can have multiple identities like Cuban, Latino, Catholic, which one takes precedence)
exemplify civil war being explained by changes in instrumental identity
- break up of Yugoslavia (Slovenians, Slovakians, Serbs, Croats)
what are the triggering causes of civil wars?
- political power in a disputed territory, e.g. Israel Palestine
- unclear goals / lack of agreement in fighting groups e.g. Hamas - Fatah divide in Israel palestine conflict
why is religious conflict rare?
- groups often want to establish own state, not convert the other. For example Sri Lanka 1983-2009, majority were buddhist, others were Hindu
why is civil war not necessarily ethnic?
- Not necessarily, usually expressed in ethnic terms, like Slovenes and Croats in former Yugolsavia (wealthy Sloveans)
what percentage of all wars fought between 1919 and 2001 were fought for national liberation or ethnic autonomy?
(why is civil war important topic)
- 45%
what percentage of wars since the end of the cold war were ethno-nationalist?
- predominance of one ethnic group over another)
why do civil wars become international issues?
- high cost to human life e.g. Hindu Muslim riots 1947 in India = 100,000 to 200,000 dead
- catastrophe –> for example can cause refugee crisis
- Easily internationalised
describe rationalist theories of civil war:
- pure security dilemma
- economic theory
what is the pure security dilemma interpretation of civil war? (rationalist theory)
What can push actors to accept a settlement?
- all actors prefer an end to international anarchy if effective security guarantees can be put in place
- actors can be pushed to accept a settlement from pure desire for exploitation and domination (some actors prefer freezing status quo and reject ending anarchy (for example the ceasefire between pro Russian and pro westerns in Ukraine)
what is the economic theory of civil war
- civil war is overwhelmingly a phenomenon of low income nations
- natural possession makes things even worse unless there are lost of them (rebellion is greed motivated)
moving away from pure security dilemma theory of civil war, what are the other security dilemma theories of civil war?
- information containment (groups cannot communicate their defence intention)
- credible commitment problems (mutual distrust prevents groups committing to disarmament)
- Security dilemma (first strike advantage)
- political entrepreneurs (mobilisation for personal power gain)
- Ethnic activists: heightened for ethnic self identification, peer pressure as such
what are socio-psychological theories of civil war (non rationalist)
- Realistic group theory
- Psychoanalytic theory
- Social identity theory
What is realistic group theory (constructivist theory)
- Vanik Voltan, Ross
- minorities attract hatred, suspicion, rage of majority because of their characteristics and serve as reservoirs of the majority’s negative self images
