Do you think war is a good thing ? War and Conflict are used inter changeably and for the purpose of this post, these terms will be defined. According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary  conflict is a “struggle for power” where as war is  “a state of usually open and declared armed hostile (fighting)  conflict between states or nations” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary).  Realist and Liberalist have opposing views to the idea that war can be used to solve conflicts. This blog aims to lay forth the different views on this topic and state that war is in fact a conflict resolution mechanism.

Realists are known to paint a dark picture about human nature. This theory’s main aim is to highlight the anarchic world in which we all live.  According to classical  realists, every state in international politics is functioned to garner safety, so they try to acquire power to ensure their survival in a system where no other state or authority will come to save them if they do otherwise. Unfortunately, this often results in conflict. There have been efforts to help resolve the conflicts, but the policies designed to avoid war and look after the larger interest of the community have often backfired and resulted in casualties of genocidal proportions. (http://www.e-ir.info/2012/02/19/realism-liberalism-and-the-possibilities-of-peace/). In August 1928, The Kellogg–Briand Pact  was signed  by the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Japan, and a number of other states. The pact renounced aggressive war, prohibiting the use of war as “an instrument of national policy” except in matters of self-defence. However this failed, as countries went to war against each other in WW2. (http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Kellogg-Briand_Pact.html). Another example of failed peace policies was when British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain attempted to “preserve peace” by avoiding conflict with Germany and adopted a policy of appeasement towards Adolf Hitler. Unfortunately, appeasement as a method of conflict resolution  failed and Germany went on to conquer France , Austria and Poland, which led to the Second World War.   From  these two examples it is easy to see that the “great questions of the day will not be settled by means of speeches and majority decisions but by iron and blood.” (http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/o/ottovonbis149419.html#XKRBjRTmeU38wcVV.99 ) Hence, war is indeed a conflict resolution mechanism.

 Liberals on the hand, have an optimistic view of human nature and disagree with the realists. To them humans are not aggressive as they are made out to be  and can thus be made to cooperate with each other to resolve conflicts. At the heart of liberalist ideology, is the belief that cooperation can translate into interdependence entailing mutual benefits for both the parties involved , solve conflicts, reduce the risk of war and increase  the prospects of peace amongst nation-states.  Neo- liberalist argues that stability and relative peace can be achieved in the international system by the use of institutions which help decision making by providing valuable information about cooperation. According to Liberals, the international society can reorganise itself in order to eliminate the institutions that make war likely. For example, the United Nations was created after WW2, “to promote international cooperation and to achieve peace and security.” (http://www.un.org/en/aboutun/history/)  This institution came in handy during the cold war conflict, where the world was close to extinction because the two strong powers who were in the midst of an ideological conflict had nuclear weapons.  With the United Nations, countries came together and created the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT). NPT aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to foster the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to further the goal of disarmament. (http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Documents/Treaties/npt.html). Many see the NPT as a success story of liberal institutions especially because no nuclear weapons/ bombs were exploded during the cold war conflict. In essence, Liberals believe that anarchy and war is not inevitable, and the way to resolve conflict is through cooperation among countries.

Usually people think that conflict cannot be solved by war, it should be solved with negotiations. However people forget that war is the arbiter of superiority. It  decides the hierarchy of nations, the superpowers, rising powers and falling powers. (http://www.debate.org/debates/Wars-are-necessary-to-end-conflicts/1/). These are things that cannot be determined by cooperation and negotiation talks. People must be hurt in order to solve issues; the end justifies the means. Hence war is a suitable mechanism to end conflict!