This great evil, where has it come from? Which seed, which root did it grow from? How did it come into the world? These and many other questions can be asked about war on this earth. Centuries have past but it seems to be as fresh as ever, no sign of dying out. Just as John Keating once said, ‘The days of peace and slumberous calm have fled’. (See sharp press, [online], n.d). The only question that remains is whether it is possible to eliminate war among and within nations. Answering that question will call for knowledge about the causes of war, the conflicts that have occurred in the past, the attempts made to resolve them and whether the resolutions have been successful and if not, then why?
The elimination of war from this world is impossible. Strife can not be gotten rid of due to its main causes and man’s nature of violence. According to W.H Auden, ‘I and the people know that all school children learn, those to whom evil is done, do evil in return’. (Global Focus International, [Online], 2003). This indicates that is has been part of man that those who have experienced evil will themselves do evil and that belief has been passed on from generation to generation, creating hate among people and making war inevitable today. There are many causes of war but let us focus on three major causes which are; population explosion, religion and nationalism.
Population explosion has vastly contributed towards rivalry within and among nations. As the human population grows, the natural resources slowly become scarce, hence, bringing about conflicts and contention among those trying to access them. Ibrahim Thiaw writes that due to the vast use of resources and the ethnic division of labour, disputes hastily turn into wider conflicts which likely turn political and engulf the all country or region as recently seen in Western and Eastern Africa ([Online] 2003). Recurrent conflicts over natural resources have also occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa, in the Middle East and in South Asia. According to Arzika Sani, unbearable population levels easily arouse social upheaval which gives birth to local conflicts which in turn culminate into mass murders, ([Online] 2002). Therefore, it can be concluded that if population explosion is not controlled, the chances of avoiding war are minimal.
Religion has also contributed to warfare. The seeking of self-justification among religions has led to conflicts which have culminated into violence and war. Joe Jenkins writes that many religions in the world believe that their faith is the true one and all others are erroneous leaving people of one faith having little or no respect for other faiths (1997: 92). Furthermore, Howard Taylor mentions that the distorting of a religion to an extent which it is identified to a particular racial or ethnic group breeds harmful results as the groups tend to seek self-justification in the name of religion ([online],2003).
By analysing religious history, you will note that it too has its perversions as well as glories. Paul Cogan reports, in recent years, there have been military campaigns in the Middle East and North Africa in the name of Islam. Catholics and Protestants clash with each other in Northern Ireland, so are Muslims and Hindus in India, ([Online], 2003). In all that, if religions continue to seek self-justification, then the elimination of war will be like a dream far from being real.
Another fuel feeding conflicts is Nationalism. As can be defined, Nationalism can be either the patriotic attitude that the citizens have about their national identity or actions that citizens take when seeking to achieve some forms of political sovereignty (Stanford University, [Online], 2002). Nationalism led to colonialism which was the source of the First World War, as many nations sought to pursue their imperialistic ambitions (Rees, [Online], 2003). Joe Jenkins strongly disapproves of the current definition of nationalism as ‘My country right or wrong’ because it tends to be racist and shuts other people out (1997: 64). In addition, wanting to form a recognizably national state often responds to deep popular sentiment, but can and does sometimes bring in its waking inhuman consequences including violent expulsion and ‘cleansing’ of non-nationals, as was the case in Germany during the reign of Hitler (Brown, 1994: 236-38). Albert Einstein once said, “Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind” (Anti-war Quotes, [Online], 2002), indicating that nationalism if not tamed, leaves mankind with less chance of survival.
The main force counteracting the spread of war is the United Nations (UN) which was formed in 1945 following the dissolution of the League of Nations. The Charter of the UN states its purposes as, maintaining international peace and security; to develop friendly relations among nations; to cooperate in solving international economic, social, cultural and humanitarian problems and promoting respect for human rights (The United Nations Organization, [Online], 1945).
In the 1980s and early 1990s, UN peacekeeping forces have helped resolve several violent regional conflicts. They negotiated ceasefires in Central America, the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), Cambodia and many others but new missions were not without problems. The UN was then followed with a string of failures as they begun to misjudge most of the conflicts. For example, in 1991 the UN sent only about 500 military and police observers into Angola, where a fragile truce had been declared in civil war between government supporters and rebels (Microsoft Encarta, [Online], 2003). Rachel Neuwrith also reports that, the UN has failed to respond to the mass murders of millions and arrest of human rights violators. For example, two million people were starved to death in North Korea and it has as well failed to stop the spread of WMD in Pakistan, North Korea, Syria, Egypt, Iraq and Libya. It also failed to prevent the slaughter of 800,000 Tutsi and Hutu in Rwanda (United Nations: a failed organization, Michnews, [Online], 2004). Consequently, it can be concluded that the peacekeeping organisation has failed to fulfill its purpose of maintaining international peace and security hence limiting the possibilities of eliminating war worldwide.
In conclusion, after analysing the major causes of war, the conflicts that have taken place due to those causes and the failed actions taken by the peacekeepers to bring peace, it can be noted that wars can not be eliminated out of this world. Just as Jeanette Winterson said, “After every ''victory'' you have more enemies” (Anti-war Quotes, [Online], 2002), stating that war is like a cycle which never ceases but continues to go on and on.
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