It would not be an exaggeration to say that the whole history of mankind is based on battles and bloody battles. Therefore, understanding how wars start is very important in order to understand the historical processes around the world. Of course, each war had its own reasons, but if you analyze the various situations, it turns out that they are very similar to each other. Especially if you make allowances for different time realities.
What is the basis?
Understanding how wars begin, one should dwell on what is generally understood by this concept. As a rule, a conflict between religious or political entities leads to war, which results in open armed confrontation.
To put it simply, there is always enmity at the base. This is a confrontation based on certain contradictions. If we try to generalize, understanding how wars start, why they happen, we can come to the conclusion thatthe reason always lies in the contradictions that arise between tribes, states, political blocs.
Resources
At all times, one of the main causes of wars were resources. People have been fighting for survival since ancient times, in fact, they have not stopped it until now. Uniting into communities, and then into tribes, people always exterminated strangers so that their clan would get the prey.
When states began to appear in the world, this problem did not disappear. Thus, each ruler sought to become more influential than the others. To do this, he needed to be the owner of as many resources as possible.
Stages of human development
The German philosopher Karl Marx wrote about the stages or formations of human development in his writings. Today, his ideas are criticized, but it is worth recognizing that three of them can determine which resource was the main one in a given period of time.
In the era of the ancient world, the slave system dominated. The main resource was people who could be enslaved. The state that owned a large number of slaves became more influential.
The Middle Ages are known as the era of feudalism. At that time, the land was the main value. Wars were often fought between dynasties. It was the lands that were considered the main means of expanding possessions. Almost all wars of the Middle Ages eventually led to a change in territorial boundaries.
Religious wars were also common at this time. However, a closer look shows that they were based on the same "selfish" interestsdynasties, individual monarchs or orders of chivalry. Higher and spiritual ideals served only as an external cover. Of great importance is the fact that the church was considered the most influential landowner at that time.
Recent and modern history is the era of capitalism. In fact, it lasts from the 17th century to the present. This state system is based on financial gain and material profit. Therefore, in the last few centuries, wars have been fought mainly for the economic power of one state or another.
Vivid examples of how wars start, the reasons that lead to them, can be found in Russian history. In the XVIII century, both Peter I and Catherine II sought to obtain additional outlets to new seas. They needed this for the development of the merchant fleet, which contributed to strengthening the economic power of the state. It is for this reason that they constantly fought with the Turks. The Dardanelles and the Bosporus were of economic and strategic importance for Russia.
Today, resources remain one of the key causes of all conflicts. Today they are minerals and capital. These are all means to achieve economic power.
Can we get rid of wars?
Even in the Middle Ages, philosophers of the Enlightenment developed projects for a just world order. Their authors tried to find at least some unifying factors. For example, in this capacity they considered world trade or the Christian faith. But in the end, all projects turned out to be utopian.
Among the first who began to think about how wars start, how this can be avoided, was the Dutch reformer and philosopher Erasmus of Rotterdam. His project was based on the problem of "good will" of a person, which was close to the ideas of Plato, who argued that philosophers should play a primary role in society.
In his projects, as well as in the works of the German philosopher Immanuel Kant, the idea of human imperfection is embedded. They believed that this is what leads to the appearance of the worst qualities that provoke wars. Envy, malice and vanity become characteristic not only for ordinary citizens, but also for monarchs, who were supposed to be brought up in a new way.
Modern history
In the 20th century, the similarity of the project of a just world order was developed by the American philosopher Francis Fukuyama. In his famous work The End of History, he writes about the onset of a milestone, after crossing which the historical development of society stops. Having reached a certain level of world order, further changes become meaningless. Therefore, the need for contradictions and wars disappears. For Fukuyama, liberal democracy was the criterion for such a world order.
The period of liberal values came after the victory over powerful ideologies, which at one time captured many strong powers. This is fascism and communism. If you follow Fukuyama's theory, then wars will disappear from the face of the Earth when liberal democracy is established everywhere. Then all countries will enter into a free and uniformglobalized world.
The concept of liberal democracy has been central to American ideology since the days of Bill Clinton. But this example shows that politicians perceive the concept one-sidedly. The reason lies in the fact that the Americans seek to plant liberal democracy where it does not exist, solely from a position of strength, unleashing new wars. Obviously, this will not lead to a positive result in the long run.
Moreover, experts see in the struggle for liberal values the same desire to seize strategic resources that provide the economic power of the state, in particular, oil.
Causes of wars
If you abstractly look at how wars start, you can be sure that their causes lie in the nature of man himself. Entering the interstate level, they only take on a large scale.
It is worth recognizing that in most cases wars between states, as well as conflicts between individuals, are provoked by the struggle for resources, the desire to obtain material benefits. In a historical perspective, the concept of such a "resource" may change, but the essence remains the same.
Another set of reasons lies in the imperfection of the very essence of human nature, in its unseemly desires and vices.
Finally, you can often see how role wars start when it is known in advance what each side will be.
World War I
How wars start in history can be seen through illustrative examples. As you know, the First World War was provoked by the Serbian terrorist Gavrilo Princip, who killed the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sofia in Sarajevo.
How do wars start? There is an interesting fact about this confrontation. It is believed that many people in Europe wanted a big war. In particular, London, Berlin, Paris. And Vienna has long been looking for a reason to put Serbia in its place, which every year it feared more and more. The Austrians, not without reason, considered it the main threat to their empire, the main focus of the pan-Slavic policy.
The Serbian conspirators who lit the fuse sought to partition Austria-Hungary, which would allow them to start implementing plans for a Greater Serbia.
As a result, as soon as it became known about the murder of Franz Ferdinand, Berlin immediately decided that it was impossible to delay. Kaiser Wilhelm II even wrote on the margin of the report: "Now or never".
Behavior of the Russian Empire
It is noteworthy that the Russian Empire in 1914 behaved very cautiously. Emperor Nicholas II held lengthy meetings with military ministers and commanders in chief. The head of state took preliminary measures, not wanting to provoke a war with too stormy preparations.
It was these fluctuations for Berlin that became a sign that Russia is not in the best shape that can be used. Indirect evidence of this was the failed Russianthe Japanese war, which demonstrated the unsatisfactory state of the armed forces.
Hitler attack
How did the war start in 1941? Some historians believe that this was due to the fact that the Red Army showed its poor combat readiness. As you know, initially a non-aggression pact was concluded between the USSR and Germany (the famous Molotov-Ribbentrop pact). The Germans started the war back in September 1939, but the Soviet Union deliberately did not intervene.
It is believed that Hitler decided to attack the USSR just after the unsuccessful Soviet-Finnish war, which demonstrated the weakness and poor training of the armed forces. On June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany, without declaring war, violated an earlier agreement, invaded the territory of the Soviet Union. By that time, she already had many European allies. These are Italy, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Croatia, Finland.
Historiographers acknowledge that this was the most bloody and destructive war in world history.
Retreat on all fronts
For many years, historians have been trying to establish why the war started badly for the Soviet Union. Of course, the factor of surprise played its role. At the same time, one must understand that the Soviet leaders always had in mind the likely scenario of an attack by the Nazis, despite the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact.
Therefore, experts believe that one of the main reasons why the war started badly wasmiscalculation of the political and military leadership of the USSR in assessing the timing when the Nazis could attack.
Stalin, realizing that the war, most likely, could not be avoided, tried in various political ways to delay its start until 1942. Like Nicholas II, he did not want to provoke the enemy by excessive activation on the border, so the troops, even in the border districts, did not have the task of switching to full combat readiness. Until the very attack, the army did not occupy the lines intended for defense. In fact, the army remained in peacetime, which predetermined the lost first battles and the retreat on all fronts.
The military clash between the USSR and Germany became the main episode of World War II. The whole world saw superpower wars begin.
Will there be World War III?
After the defeat of the Nazi camp, the problems in the world have not disappeared. For several decades, there have been discussions about whether to wait for the Third World War. What will it be like if it starts?
Many believe that atomic weapons or military space forces will play a key role in it. One thing is certain: the reasons will not be much different from those that started all the wars in the history of mankind.
