The Nature of World Order

The Nature of Conflict

1. Interstate Conflict

Warfare has evolved overtime due to advances in technology and changes to war strategy

Biological and nuclear weapons threaten all human and physical life on the planet

Conventional War Use of large, well organised military forces WW1, WW2, Korean War, Vietnam War, The

Gulf Wars The UN Charter derived from this type of

conflict

Nuclear War Use of atomic and hydrogen bombs During the Cold War, USA and USSR owned

50000 Atmospheric testing ended with the signing of

the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty 1963 Still 30000 nuclear weapons in existence today

Cyber-Warfare Shutting down a system of infrastructure that

is controlled electronically Power stations, dams, airports, electricity grids

Difficult to find the source of the attacker

Cold War The Era of tensions between USSR and USA

1947-1991 War was avoided due to threat of mutual

annihilation( balance of terror) This era paralysed the UN Security Council thus

making it ineffective

2. Intrastate Conflict

The UN Charter was not written to deal with internal conflict of a nation-state.

The UN has had to develop such strategies to control outbreaks within a country, through peacekeeping

Civil War A conflict between two or more sides in one

country Lebanon Civil War 1980s, Vietnam War 1964-75 Africa remains an area of continued civil war

tensions

Guerrilla War Hit and Run tactics A Superior army vs. a primitive army Vietnam War is a classic example, the Vietcong

and the USA army

War waged by governments Dictatorial regimes that engage in campaigns

of mass genocide, ethnic cleansing etc These acts can be intervened by the UN and

classified as war crimes

Terrorism Intended actions to cause death by coercing a

government to meet certain demands September 11 2001

Communal Killing Violence and warfare within communities, not

necessarily associated to a government Yugoslavia in the 1990s UN finds this issue very difficult to manage

Theme and Challenge Time

Theme: The role of law in encouraging cooperation and resolving conflict in regard to world order War is considered illegal unless it is self-

defence or UN Security Council authorisation However, during the invasion of Iraq in 2003,

USA stated that its intentions were to eliminate weapons of mass destruction, this has been widely criticised as a sham, concealing a hidden agenda of American Hegemony

Access to Resources as a source of Conflict

USA positions military bases around the world to secure resources for its economy Its ally in the Middle East

–Israel Good relations with Arab

states such as Saudi Arabia

China chases further access to resources Iron ore, gas and coal

from Australia

Access to resources will be a major source of conflict in the future A potential ‘oil depletion

protocol’ may need to be negotiated

Food Scarcity is likely to be a cause of conflict

Other causes of war – Ideological disputes, Religion, Global or regional hegemony, Ethnic/racial tolerance