War and Violence 2

Question 1

What is Clausewitz’s quote regarding war as a rational choice?

Answer 1

“War is… simply the continuation of political intercourse with the addition of other means”

Question 2

What is Clausewitz’s ‘Remarkable Trinity’?

Answer 2

Primordial violence/hatred envy
Chance and probability
Reason

Question 3

What is the structural perspective on war?

Answer 3

Neo-realism
Security dilemma (Hertz)
‘One nation’s security is always another’s insecurity’ (Reynolds)

Question 4

What are the structural (Marxist) causes of war?

Answer 4

Economic dynamic: The ‘mode of production’ determines all aspects of human action.
Lenin: Imperialism, the highest stage of capitalism (1916).
War the result of competition for economic advantage.

Question 5

According to Marxism and Neo-Marxism, violence is used in which two ways?

Answer 5

1. To pressure a form of order and values conducive to the interests of capitalism
2. Intervention in defence of economic interests. Directly or through the provision of political support to prop-up or create a favorable regime.

Question 6

What is modernity and war?

Answer 6

Modern capitalist society is inherently violent
The prospect of war resides between constitutional democracies
War is a contingent product of modernising society.

Question 7

What are underlying causes of war?

Answer 7

Stress on the underlying causes leads to structural explanations with emphasis on international conditions.

Statesmen are propelled to war if the background conditions of the system are war-prone (Suganami)

Immediate causes are of peripheral importance

Question 8

What are the critiques of underlying causes of war?

Answer 8

Too mechanistic, ignores human agency

Many examples of war breaking out in ‘benign’ conditions.

Question 9

What are the critiques of immediate causes of war?

Answer 9

Stress on individual decisions risks ignoring the background conditions in which decisions are made.

Can result in a simplistic/reductionist ‘great man’ theory of history approach.

But: ignoring crucial decisions can lock us into a mechanistic world view over which we have little influence.

Question 10

What is security?

Answer 10

An ‘essentially contested’ term
Meaning changes with time, as old threats fade and new ones appear
‘Referent object of security’
Security studies rooted in Realist/Neo Realist assumptions about ‘national security’

Question 11

Characteristics of sovereignty and the state (8)

Answer 11

The basic political entity in world politics.
Monopoly, or near monopoly, of violence.
Order and justice.
Resolution of conflict through conciliation and violence.
Welfare provision.
Internal and external security.
As the nation-state it represents the core values of the state.
Sole repository of the loyalty of the citizen who is bound by obligations to the state, including the sacrifice of life.

Question 12

Characteristics of sovereignty and anarchy (3)

Answer 12

Anarchy: the absence of government
No global sovereign
Sovereignty and anarchy: the central organising principles of the ‘world of states’

Question 13

What is the only guarantee of a state’s security?

Answer 13

State itself, either by its own efforts or in combination with other states.

Question 14

What is national security?

Answer 14

The ability to deter aggression and preserve the territorial integrity and political independence of the state.

Creation of defensive capability

The creation of political links to deter or eliminate rivals, deny potential alliances to an enemy, create strategic redoubts, pressure communications etc.

Question 15

When have states enjoyed relative immunity from external threat?

Answer 15

Only very rarely:

Splendid isolation: Britain from 1820’s to 1900
Monroe Doctrine: USA from 1800 to 1950

Question 16

National security capabilities depends on what range of variables?

Answer 16

Weapons technology,
Population and human resources,
Industrial production and technology,
Access to raw materials and commodities,
Geography and spatial relations,
Command and communications systems,
Intelligence gathering.

Question 17

What is national security politically?

Answer 17

Political stability and commitment

Alliances are the key manifestation of states seeking to neutralise threats and/or strengthen deterrence.

Question 18

What are the functions of alliances?

Answer 18

Remove or reduce the factor of competition
Allow economies of scale in resources and defence provisions
Reduce the area of maneuver for potential enemies.
Can offset geographical disadvantage or disparities in manpower where the prevailing technology makes these factors important.
Help to stabilise the world by posing a greater counter threat to any attempt to change the status quo than a single state could provide.

Question 19

What are the negative impacts of alliances?

Answer 19

Can reduce the state’s area of manoeuvre
Reduce the state’s capability to adopt to changing circumstances
Provoke fear and insecurity in adversaries
Entangle a state in disputes with their ally’s enemies

Question 20

What is Palmerston’s quote regarding alliances?

Answer 20

“No permanent allies or perpetual enemies”

Geography and the National Interests before abstract ideologies: But; long standing alliances do tend to rest on a foundation of shared values and ideas.