War Essays - Saddam Hussein, Tulfah Family, War, Nationalism

War The Frequency of Armed International Conflict In the 20th Century In 1962 there was a conflict between three nations so grim their actions could have affected the entire world. The Cuban missile crisis of 1962 was a very tense moment in history; these nations were almost at the brink of nuclear warfare. This is one of many armed international conflicts in the 20th century. Another name more commonly recognized for these conflicts is war, which means disputes between two governments or more. What causes nations to fight amongst each other threatening lives and risking their own as well? The immediate causes behind armed international conflicts are land & need of natural resources, religious beliefs, nationalism, and economics. History has taught us that many battles have been fought over land and need for natural resources. It is the basis of supply and demand, but the method used in order to meet equilibrium is more aggressive. For example a nation is very overpopulated and the people are suffering because there is a lack of resources. The neighboring nation has a low population and they have a large surplus. The extreme measure is that they will be taken over by a country in need or they will fight to defend themselves. Religious conflicts are very common and they range in differences such as land or dispute in beliefs. Many fight over land they believe it is sacred to their religion because it is a historical monument supporting their beliefs or of great significance. People are very patriotic towards their homeland and believe that it is superior towards opposin g nations. Nationalistic behavior can range from a simple citizen would pays taxes and support his country to a person who is willing to inflict destruction in order to help his country prosper even die for them. Economics is very large incentive in international conflicts because money is very important to every nation. Many fight everyday just because of economic issues such as land that has a very high value and much more. The most significant of all the causes that steer towards international conflict are religious beliefs, nationalism, and economics. Religious beliefs is of great importance because is has been the cause of many conflicts in the past and it is in the present. Religious beliefs during International conflicts have been the root to mass persecution and acts of terrorism. A primary example of this is the continuous fight between the people of Palestine who are mainly Muslim and Israel who are mainly Jews. Both nations have been fighting with each other over lands that they both claim to be very sacred to their own religion. They have both used military power to fight for this important area and even the people of both nations have gone further to fight in the streets throwing stones at soldiers armed with guns. They believe in what they are doing and are willing to die for it. Nationalism is the promotion and emphasis of one country and culture. This is not necessarily a bad thing but it can very easily get out of control to the point where it is dangerous. In 1933 the Nazi Regime came to power in Germany lead by Adolph Hitler. He believed that the Aryan race was superior and that other ethnic groups were bridling the success of their nation. He believed that these people should be done away with this term was called ethnic cleansing. At the time there was a dense population of Jews in Europe. They remained in terror from about 1933 to 1944 while Hitler was in power and he spread almost all cross Europe. Under his power millions of Jews were slaughtered in both work and death camps. One of the most important of all causes of international conflicts is economics. Many have fought over land that is of value because money matters in life. In the beginning on the 20th century Britain concluded a war with the Orange free States called the Boer War. Britain had settled colonies on the most southern tip of Africa now Cape Cod and after sometime Britain stopped supporting t hem and left. Right after the release of the colony large quantities of gold and diamonds