WAR

a state of usually open and declared armed hostile conflict between political units, such as states or nations or between rival political factions of the same state or nation. War is characterized by intentional violence on the part of large bodies of individuals who are expressly organized and trained to participate in such violence. Wars between nation-states may be fought to gain reparation for a particular injury; to acquire a particular territory or advantage; to gain recognition of a particular claim; or to achieve the extermination or unconditional surrender of the enemy. Wars of considerable duration have usually been divided into "campaigns" conducted in one area under one command for one season. These, in turn, have been composed of "battles," in which opposing forces come into direct contact for one or two days at a time (though battles have tended to last longer in modern warfare). With the progress of science and technology and consequent increases in the destructive power of armaments, war has had an increasingly catastrophic effect on human existence. The subject of war is treated in two articles. For the theoretical, tactical, legal, and economic aspects, see defense economics; war; war, law of. For technological aspects, see military technology. in the popular sense, a conflict among political groups involving hostilities of considerable duration and magnitude. In the usage of social science certain qualifications are added. Sociologists usually apply the term to such conflicts only if they are initiated and conducted in accordance with socially recognized forms. They treat war as an institution recognized in custom or in law. Military writers usually confine the term to hostilities in which the contending groups are sufficiently equal in power to render the outcome uncertain for a time. Armed conflicts of powerful states with primitive peoples are usually called pacifications, military expeditions, or explorations; with small states, they are called interventions or reprisals; and with internal groups, rebellions or insurrections. Such incidents, if the resistance is sufficiently strong or protracted, may achieve a magnitude that entitles them to the name "war." War is treated in several other articles. For the relation between diplomacy and war, see international relations, 20th-century. For the weapons of war, see military technology. For a history of World Wars I and II, see World War I and World War II. Other wars are covered in the history sections of articles on the relevant countries or regions-e.g., for the American Civil War, see United States, history of: Civil War; for the Punic Wars, see ancient Rome: The middle republic. In all ages war has been an important topic of analysis. In the latter part of the 20th century, in the aftermath of two world wars and in the shadow of nuclear, biological, and chemical holocaust, more has been written on the subject than ever before. Endeavours to understand the nature of war, to formulate some theory of its causes, conduct, and prevention, are of great importance, for theory shapes human expectations and determines human behaviour. The various schools of theorists are generally aware of the profound influence they can exercise upon life, and their writings usually include a strong normative element, for, when accepted by politicians, their ideas can assume the characteristics of self-fulfilling prophecies. The analysis of war may be divided into several categories. Philosophical, political, economic, technological, legal, sociological, and psychological approaches are frequently distinguished. These distinctions indicate the varying focuses of interest and the different analytical categories employed by the theoretician, but most of the actual theories are mixed because war is an extremely complex social phenomenon that cannot be explained by any single factor or through any single approach. Additional reading Carl von Clausewitz, On War, 3 vol. in 1 (1873; originally published in German, 3 vol., 1832-34), remains a classic on the theory of war and is available in many later editions both in the original and in English translation, of which the one edited by and with commentary by Michael Howard and Peter Paret (1976) can be recommended. Other outstanding classical philosophical treatments are Immanuel Kant, Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Essay (1903, reissued 1972; originally published in German, 1795), also available in later editions, some entitled Eternal Peace; John Stuart Mill, On Liberty (1859) and Considerations on Representative Government (1861), both available in the selection published as Political Writings (1981), in "The Great Books of the Western World" series; and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, A Lasting Peace Through the Federation of Europe, and The State of War, trans. from French (1917).Explanations of war as a product of imperialism are found in J.A. Hobson, Imperialism, 3rd rev. ed. (1938, reprinted 1988); and in Marxist writings. Psychological theories of war are best expressed in Sigmund Freud, Civilization, War, and Death, new ed., ed. by John Rickman (1953, reprinted 1968); and ethological theories in Robert Ardrey, The Territorial Imperative (1966, reissued 1978); and Konrad Lorenz, On Aggression (1966, reprinted 1974; originally published in German, 1963). Norman Angell, The Great Illusion: A Study of the Relation of Military Power in Nations to Their Economic and Social Advantage (1910), is an early economic study, available in many later editions. Reinhold Niebuhr, Moral Man and Immoral Society (1932, reprinted 1960), analyzes war from the ethical point of view.A comprehensive modern analysis is Quincy Wright, A Study of War, 2nd ed. (1964). Other major contemporary general analyses are Raymond Aron, The Century of Total War (1954, reprinted 1985); Kenneth N. Waltz, Man, the State, and War (1959, reprinted 1965); and Hans J. Morgenthau and Kenneth W. Thompson, Politics Among Nations, 6th ed. (1985). On nuclear war, see Herman Kahn, On Escalation: Metaphors and Scenarios (1965, reprinted 1986). Inis L. Claude, Jr., Swords into Plowshares, 4th ed. (1971, reprinted 1984), discusses United Nations approaches to peace. Later studies include Evan Luard, War in International Society: A Study in International Sociology (1986), a broad and systematic view of war in history; J. David Singer et al., Explaining War: Selected Papers from the Correlates of War Project (1979); and Melvin Small and J. David Singer, Resort to Arms: International and Civil Wars, 1816-1980, rev. ed. (1982). Joseph Frankel