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( Five minute read)
Today’s wars are mostly undeclared, undefined and inglorious affairs typically involving multiple parties, foreign governments, proxy forces, covert methods and novel weapons.
They are conducted without regard for civilian lives.
Modern wars are mostly about power and treasure. And they go on, and on, and on.
A related factor is the collapse of the western-led consensus favouring multilateral, collaborative approaches to international problems.
This is matched by the parallel rise of authoritarian and populist regimes that prioritise narrow national interest over perceptions of the common good.
This is what we’re up against.
Historians are now using the f-word to describe what’s happening in America and that is disregard for the ineffectiveness of international law enforcement, symbolised by the inability of the International Criminal Court to deliver justice to war zones such as Iraq and Ukraine, helps freeze or perpetuate conflicts rather than justly resolve them.
All of this is fuelled by the fact that millions of young men lack fulfilling work or a meaningful stake in their country’s future.
Long-running inter-state or intra-state violence is also rooted in the climate crisis and resulting resource scarcity, poverty and dislocation.
So you add these things up and it’s no wonder that we have wars.
60% of the world’s wars have lasted for at least a decade.
Yemen’s conflict is in its sixth pitiless year.
In Israel-Palestine, war – or rather the absence of peace – has characterised life since 1948.
Somalis have endured 40 years of fighting. These are but a few examples in a world where the idea of war without end seems to have become accepted, even normalised.
They are deliberately fed and manipulated by external powers, that claim to be upholding order or fighting “terrorism” while, in reality, they seek to extend national influence and economic advantage.
As long as these aims remain unmet, they show scant interest in peace.
All human comments appreciate. All like clicks and abuse chucked in the bin.
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