POLI 12 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Carl Von Clausewitz
Lecture 5:
Why Are There Wars?
Why is there so much peace in the world?
Most countries are at peace most of the time. War is atypical. More Americans died from the war that
resulted from 9/11 than they did in 9/11. Saddam Hussein was a dictator and ensured there wasn’t
terrorist activity under his reign, so the likelihood of Iraq being a terrorist hub was very low.
War is not only rare but also episodic: A lot of the times many countries are fighting but a lot of the
times it’s almost nobody, this only happens in World Wars.
War is puzzling:
They are costly, in terms of blood and treasure. States would rather get what they want without going
to war. In war, the aggressor is always peace-loving, he would prefer to take our country unopposed -
Karl von Clausewitz
Violence and conflict are costly to both perpetrator and target.
What states fight over:
1. Territory: Territory can be bought and sold but it is tricky because it’s expensive and states are
unwilling to “share”
2. National policy
3. Regime
4. Ethnic or religious divisions
The Bush administration’s invasion of Iraq was presumably due to “weapons of mass destruction” but
during the invasions there was no attempt to contain these weapons.
Saddam Hussein was an important proxy for the US, like oppose Iran, but he decided to stop so the
US realized it needed a more compliant leader. The US gov does not want the land of Syria but it
wants the gov of Syria to behave a certain way. For a very long time the US has advocated for
democracy and has tried to democratize other countries through military action.
Fighting for ethnic or religious differences on the other hand, does not solve the problem. Ethnic
differences cannot be addressed by the use of force. Ethnicity or religion are not malleable and so
may not be the direct cause of war but may be the cause of organization for war. In order to get
others to support the cause of conflict, people use ethnicity as a tool.
War as an outcome of a failed bargain:
One reason you can have war is if the other side does not want to comply with one side’s demand. It
is an inefficient form of transaction, it is a costly way to get what you want. A lot of what diplomats
do is they ask for things they think they can get because their country has enough power.
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Document Summary
Most countries are at peace most of the time. More americans died from the war that resulted from 9/11 than they did in 9/11. Saddam hussein was a dictator and ensured there wasn"t terrorist activity under his reign, so the likelihood of iraq being a terrorist hub was very low. War is not only rare but also episodic: a lot of the times many countries are fighting but a lot of the times it"s almost nobody, this only happens in world wars. They are costly, in terms of blood and treasure. States would rather get what they want without going to war. In war, the aggressor is always peace-loving, he would prefer to take our country unopposed - Violence and conflict are costly to both perpetrator and target. What states fight over: territory: territory can be bought and sold but it is tricky because it"s expensive and states are unwilling to share , national policy, regime, ethnic or religious divisions.
