war and geopolitics

Question 1

what could be seen as the first modern war?

Answer 1

the crimean war 1853-56

Question 2

how could Crimea be seen as the first modern war?

Answer 2

the first widespread use of telegraph connecting Crimea and London allowing for the immediate transport of communication

Question 3

how did the telegraph revolutionise warfare?

Answer 3

it made communication instant from across the globe, before news took weeks to arrive to the public but the telegraph allowed daily updates

Question 4

how did the telegraph impact the public?

Answer 4

the public could now get daily updates on war and allowed for the public to feel more involved in the war that was happening far away

Question 5

why was Crimea disastrous for the officer class in the media?

Answer 5

the media reflected the officer class poorly as aristocrats who got their position based on status rather than skill

Question 6

how did the reporting of war change from Crimea to ww1?

Answer 6

during the crimean war there was little censorship on what journalists could say, but by ww1 the Army wanted to keep journalists at a distance

Question 7

how did the telegraph make the public feel about war?

Answer 7

made people feel involved with the war being present in the homes of the public, allowing the men at home to play a fantasy war boosting masculinity and the idea of the hero soldier

Question 8

how was psychological warfare utilised by the US in conflict?

Answer 8

the US attempt to win hearts and minds in the war on terror in Iraq, where they believed they would be seen as liberators, however this didn’t work

Question 9

What was the US strategy in the 2nd battle of Fallujah?

Answer 9

after the first resulted in massive civilian loss of life. the battle began with planes dropping leaflets telling the women and children to leave and then anyone left would be considered hostile.
but only the middle class could leave as they had the ability to, the poorer didn’t have much and couldn’t just leave.

Question 10

what was shock and awe?

Answer 10

the method used in Iraq during the first attacks which was supposed to be a range of attacks so shocking that the enemy would want to surrender, this didn’t work

Question 11

what is the moral economy of bombing?

Answer 11

1. bombing saves future lives
2. bombing is manly by showing the willing to kill
3. bombing is objective and organised to be efficient
4. bombing is law-full, its legal and imposes the law on the lawless

Question 12

what did Winston Churchill say on the use of poison gas in 1919?

Answer 12

he was in favour of using such gas on uncivilised populations to install terror “it should spread a lively terror”

Question 13

how is the term civilian in war seen differently?

Answer 13

civilian population when fighting in the Middle East and Iraq sees the male population as potential fighters whereas in Europe they are not.
comes from the head of British colonial administration 1932

Question 14

how does orientalism link to the idea of civilian populations?

Answer 14

defining the other and defining the east as primitive and violent whereas the west is defined as civilised creates the European identity

Question 15

how was propaganda used to enhance killing?

Answer 15

use of propaganda during ww1 and ww2 was used to dehumanise the other and make the killing more justified

Question 16

how was morale used in bombing?

Answer 16

the idea that bombing would reduce the morale of targets and force surrender, this was seen in ww2 in cologne and Tokyo

Question 17

what are examples of morale bombing?

Answer 17

Tokyo was bombed with incendiary bombs which raised Tokyo to the ground as it was made of mostly wood.
the bombing of Hiroshima

Question 18

how does the televising of conflict effect conflict and the public?

Answer 18

the first televised war was the Vietnam war and was pictured in the homes of all Americans, this sparked the large protest movement against the war as it revealed the horrors of war.

Question 19

how has the spread of coverage of war changed?

Answer 19

it used to be covered by war photographers and journalists but is now filmed on phones by civilians and uploaded to sites such as YouTube

Question 20

how is the transport and logistics one of the largest obstacles faced today in war?

Answer 20

in Afghanistan NATO supplies would pass through Pakistan and have a supply chain of 2000km vulnerable to attack especially with fractious relations between US and Pakistan

Question 21

how has neoliberalism created problems with transport of goods to war?

Answer 21

one of the convoys in Afghanistan supplies were moved by private companies and the supply chain privatised and so was the security, which was supplied by warlords

Question 22

how has transformation in munitions changed geography of killing zones?

Answer 22

fewer men are needed to maintain battlefront due to the innovation of airpower with the battles moving from trenches to cities, and the killing is made easier as the pilots don’t see who they are killing

Question 23

how have drones changed the relationship with war?

Answer 23

the use of unmanned drones removes the threat of ground to air, they are able to make precise strikes with the pilot safe and far away making the killing easier