Causes of War

Different kinds of war

• Extrastate war

• Interstate war

• Intrastate war; civil war

  • E.g Kurds

• Internationalised internal armed conflict

  • E.g Syria

    • Syrian government allied: Russia, Iran, Hezbollah

    • Rebel groups: U.S-led coalition, Turkey, Gulf states

Over-time trends in war

• Why have civil wars increased after WW2

  • Decolonisation

  • New states leading to territorial conflicts: E.g India v Pakistan over land of Kashmir

Bargaining failures:

• Information asymmetry

• Commitment problems

• Issue indivisibilities