War

"War, what is it good for?"

– Edwin Starr

"Everything!"

– Soldier, replying to the upper question.

War, for some the be-all-end-all of civilizations, the harbinger of death to others. For thousands of years, perhaps even millions, us humans have gone to war for as long as we've been able to create weapons. Whether it be over matters of ideology, natural ressources, or territory, men have fought for millenia on end for the betterment of mankind as a whole... or for their own interest.

/tg/ relevance

Are you seriously asking that?

Why do we go to war?

BECOZ IT'Z A ZOGGIN' GUD TIME, DATZ WHY!

Okay, seriously, why do we go to war? You might have heard philosophers, politicians, artists, thinkers, or even people on the street saying that war is terrible and should be avoided at all cost. Even military officials highly suggest to not apprehend conflict at all. As it seems that War brings more bad than good. But if that is so obvious, then why do people still to this very day fight to the death? It has been a very frequent subject of debates and researches. Despite the disapproval of war as a concept, it is ever omnipresent in our media and culture. Even games! How many tabletop games do you know are based around the concept of war? Isn't that enough proof that despite the odds, there is an interest in the matter of conflict?

Over the years, many explanations for war were given, but none really serve as a definitive answer.

• Natural resources have been a frequent one in the early days of civilization. The Euphrates river, for example, has been the theater of a metric ton of conflicts and battles over the water the river provided. And given how it was one of the only sources around in Ancient Mesopotamia, you better believe people were going to fight over it. With the first development of agriculture and infrastructures made to circumvent problems created by the river, the disputes lasted until the establishment of the first Akkadian civilization.
  • Later down the line, natural resources kept being a main motivation for war; but instead of it being based on its literal rarity, most cases were economic matters. Say a country is doing a blockade on certain trades and another needs said trades to complete certain megaprojects. In most cases, negotiations were cut short in favor of a simple cut to the throat. In desperate times, men can get very violent. Or repress with a lot of violence.
• Following the "realist" political theories, war is the result of nations trying and failing to produce stability with their neighboring nations by maintaining a balance of military power with each other. If that does not work out (say, because one nation is believed to be developing nuclear weapons and we'd rather be the ones holding that particular trigger), war happens to try and balance it out so war can be avoided in the future. This also works with other resources; if a country is in need of water, oil or other necessities, war becomes more likely as their desperation rises (see current east-European/Russian relations).
• If you're an authoritarian regime, war is one of many ways to keep your regime propped up. This serves multiple purposes; it provides the populace with jobs in the form of industry and conscription, it directs people's negative sentiments towards an external foe and away from the state itself, and if the war is successful, gains the state prestige and resources (which are intended to not only offset the cost of the war but also grow the state's overall power). The threat of an external foe also justifies an increase in the state's power, such as cracking down on civil liberties. That being said, if the state is already unstable or overextended and you fail to make any meaningful gains, people will start questioning the legitimacy of the ruling class.
• Ideology may be a major dividing line between two opposing forces; while political ambitions and desire for power usually coincide as motivating factors, a major ideological difference can make it intolerable for two different groups of people to live with each other due to the fundamental incompatibility with their ways of life.
• Civil Wars usually start with some segment of the population being upset with the current ruling class. This can take a number of different forms:
  • Coup d'Etat - The rebel faction wants to replace the current ruler.
  • Secession - The rebel faction wants to splinter away from the country to form their own country.
  • Failed State - If the central government fails altogether, local populations will start fighting each other to reestablish a new state; usually with different warlords wanting to eventually defeat the rivals and become the new ruler of the country.