What is War?

In my opinion, war is any sort of extended conflict that consists of two or more opposing sides. I do not think that all violent conflicts result in war. Two sides could have one battle, but it is not necessarily a war just because there was a conflict. I believe that for something to be considered war, it has to go on for an extended period of time. I can not say a specific amount of time, but it can not be something that is resolved quickly. Therefore, I would not consider any violent conflict a war, unless it continues on with each side battling to win. Just one violent outburst or conflict is not considered to be a war, in my opinion. With that being said about violent conflicts, I also believe there can be war without direct violence.

There does not have to be direct conflict between the opposing sides to have a war. For example, The Cold War went on for 46 years between the USSR and The United States. For all 46 years, there was never direct conflict, but it is still considered to be a war. The two opposing sides battled in other ways such as the Nuclear Arms Race, and The Space Race. Even though the two sides were not physically fighting, it was an ongoing battle for one side to beat the other in any way they could. There does not have to be violence involved for a conflict to be considered a war.

A modern day example is The War on Terrorism. Today, there is controversy as to whether it is actually a war or not. According to my definition of war, it is. This conflict has been going on since September 11, 2001, so it is clearly an extended conflict. There is direct and indirect conflict involved. The direct conflict is the actual troops fighting against terrorists and searching for them. The indirect conflict is the various legal disputes that have come up as of result of the war such as human rights issues between the U.S. military and the treatment of their prisoners of war. I personally do not see how The War on Terrorism couldn’t be considered a war.

I do not think war can only be between state entities. It doesn’t matter whether a side or sides in a conflict is considered a state or not for there to be war between them. War is war regardless of who the opposing sides are. War can even happen between two sides within one state, such as The Civil War. As long as there are two sides against each other in an ongoing conflict, it can be a war.

Unfortunately, I think there will always be war. War is a sad part of the human race that will never go away. I can not see there being a time when everyone in the world gets along well enough for there to not be any ongoing conflicts. All people are unique and will therefore have strong, opposing opinions that will sometimes result in extensive conflicts that will become war.

Works cited:

"War, The Philosophy of [The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]." The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy [IEP]. Web. 18 Sept. 2009. http://www.iep.utm.edu/war/#H2.