Political Science 144: Intro to International Relations
Institution
Stellenbosch University (SUN)
Book
The Globalization of World Politics
Summary study book The Globalization of World Politics of John Baylis, Smith, Steve - ISBN: 9780198739852, Edition: 1, Year of publication: december 2 (chapter 13)
Intro to International Relations Book Summaries IRO Year 1 Block 1
All for this textbook (23)
Written for
Stellenbosch University (SUN)
Political Science 144: Intro to International Relations
All documents for this subject (15)
1
review
By: stuvia11200 • 5 year ago
Seller
Follow
ysechabanel
Reviews received
Content preview
Political Science 144
The Changing character of war
“if you want peace, understand war” “you may not be interested in war but war is interested
in you”
What is war?
Many definitions:
1. Any form of armed and organised physical conflict
2. A violent contact of distinct but similar entities
3. Act of force intended to compel our opponents to fulfil our will
4. A continuation of political intercourse with a mixture of other means
5. A state of usually open and declared armed hostile conflict between states or nations
6. Organised violence carried on by political units against each other
- Kill 1000 people annually (threshold) a bit arbitrary
- War understood as politics by other means
- Traditionally seen as a brutal form of politics way in which states sought to resolve
certain issues in international relations (state-to-state military rivalry) WW1 & WW2
- Done consciously
- To achieve political goals (might be more immediate causes)
- Around 14 400 wars have happened (recorded) claiming lives of 3.5 billion people
- Since end of cold war both the frequency and lethality of war have shown a sharp decline
- War between great powers has become much more unlikely than in previous eras
(globalisation) changes in international system may be changing the character of war
- New wars response to more amorphous and less predictable threats such as terrorism,
insurgencies, internal crises in other countries that seem to demand the projection of
military force to resolve them
- Objective nature of war elements common to all wars
- Subjective nature of war features that make wars unique (new ideas and social
conditions)
- Wars are socially constructed form of a large-scale human group behaviour
War and society
- Social and political behaviour
- Human beings are simultaneously the most violent and most cooperative species on earth
- Societies cooperate on a large scale as societies cooperate on an internal level
- On the other hand, societies feel compelled to fight other societies because they find it
difficult to cooperate on an external level
- Unless it’s a civil war, there is a curious sense in which a state at war is also at peace
1
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller ysechabanel. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for £2.27. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
