I know what you are thinking: “Of course, war only brings mass destruction and involves injuring and killing civilians.” And, while this is true, it’s not the point of this article. While the human side of the issue should be enough to count war as unacceptable in our times, it might not be enough to convince cold realists to put peace and safety above self-interest.
(Before I jump into the actual content of the article, I want to clarify that I do not agree with this point of view. War is morally and ethically wrong, involving blatant violations of human rights. However, this is just an attempt to rationally explain the inefficiency of war, besides the human factor.)
Nobody wins when at war.
"In war, whichever side may call itself the victor, there are no winners, but all are losers."- Neville Chamberlain, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
This point probably contradicts everything you know about armed conflict, but bear with me, I promise it makes sense. Realist concepts have heavily influenced our way of thinking, to the point when such ideas sound illogical. But, if you come to think about it, following self-preservation and national interests above all is inherently self-destructive: war is the natural order of things, but at the same time, war is also the costliest option.
Let’s take, as an example, country X and Y; both have some sort of claim to a certain territory, which is currently part of country X. Country Y is willing to go to war for the territory, as it will most probably win the conflict. But the war’s human toll is significant, as is the environmental impact on both sides. And, to top it all off, multiple territories were destroyed amid the conflict, including the disputed one. So, in this case, is there truly a winner?
What is the alternative?
Instead of going to war, countries X and Y could have engaged in negotiations to prevent the war. Thet could have brought government officials, military representatives and economic advisors together, along with international law upholders and conflict mediators to ensure a smooth negotiation process and decide which outcome aligns best with both the countries’ interests.
So why does war still happen?
If the solution is so obvious, war shouldn’t happen at all, right? But sadly, the ideal scenario presented above rarely applies to real-life conflicts. There are multiple factors that affect the negotiation process, such as issue indivisibility, information asymmetry, commitment problems, domestic political constrains, security dilemmas, cognitive and psychological biases and many more.
Even if the international community is far from perfect, and current peacekeeping negotiations don’t always work, the ever-changing nature of international politics leaves us with hope for a future where such negotiations are mostly successful, and upholding peace becomes a priority.
Sources:
https://dtasdvdhudnn5.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/04122952/Face-Of-War.jpg.webp - picture
All accessed on the 25.10.2024
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