POL SCI 5 Lecture Notes - Democratic Peace Theory, Ethnic Cleansing, Ethnic Conflict
Document Summary
War, iraq war: interstate wars declined, civil wars increased. Causes of war theory- why conflict turns to war, not so much the cause of the conflict: issues of conflict 1) interests (material) 2) ideas. This classification is useful but misleading, why: not mutually exclusive 2) material interest is socially constructed. What is the fighting about: conflicts of interests, territorial disputes (historically had much significance, often used as force, post colonial world: very strong norm of the sanctity of borders. Partly why something like iraq, kuwait invasion was uncommon. Islamic fundamentalism: ideological conflict, one way the cold war can be classified as- communism vs. democracy, realists argue ideology isn"t important; yes, ideology isn"t all determining. But some evidence shows that ideological elements can matter 1) Revolutions can create sudden change that could be destabilizing and alter the balance of power 2) mobilize national population.
