Critically discuss why states become belligerent in contemporary times.
‘War is the continuation of politics by other means’ wrote Karl von Clausewitz in 1833 in his book ‘On War’. Critically discuss why states become belligerent in contemporary times.
*****Mandatory reading:*****
(Must include these two sources in the essay)
1. Bourke, S. (2019). ‘Why Does Politics Turn to Violence?’, in Edkins, J. and Zehfuss, M. (eds.) Global Politics. A New Introduction. London; NY: Routledge. Pp. 454 – 476.
2. Gregory, T. (2019). ‘What Makes the World Dangerous?’, in Edkins, J. and Zehfuss, M. (eds.) Global Politics. A New Introduction. London; NY: Routledge. Pp. 477 – 499Links:
1. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wcGkSrc1DFHcT_YdKIJ588SAxeUANn7G/view?usp=sharing
2.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gu8Uk1kydZbk1APgLo8eKSuolMBOmyN0/view?usp=sharing
Essay Guide
**As mentioned in the question, ‘War is the continuation of politics by other means’ wrote Karl von Clausewitz in 1833 in his book ‘On War’.
– However, causes of belligerent states are far more complex in contemporary times than in 19th century. Identify causes of belligerent states in contemporary times
Some questions to think of:
– Define belligerency?
Belligerency, the condition of being in fact engaged in war.
Britannica. 1998. “Belligerency”, Britannica. Available at:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/belligerency
– What is political violence? What is war?
War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political communities, and therefore is defined as a form of political violence.
Lazar, S. 2020. “War”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2020 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.). Available at: https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2020/entries/war/.
– Why does politics turn to violence?
Economic gain. Territorial ambition ect.
But is there other causes in contemporary time?
Provide evidence (examples of contemporary war)
-The paper should be specific. Avoid being too broad.
