Why Do We Fight? Conflict, War, and Peace

Why Do We Fight? Conflict, War, and Peace — page 5 — No one really likes conflict but disagreements don’t always have to be violent Or even unpleasant They can be a chance to make changes happen if the people involved are willing to listen and work things out The way a conflict gets resolved or settled depends on how the people involved handle it Sometimes conflicts get resolved by talking them out before they blow up into major fights Sometimes they get settled by fighting That’s true of conflicts between people on the street It’s also true of conflicts between countries on the world stage too We call those conflicts global conflicts When we talk about global conflicts we’re talking about major disagreements that get the world’s attention These break out among groups of people inside a country’s borders or between countries They are disputes that involve many thousands or even millions of people And yes global conflicts often get violent Sometimes they turn into full-blown wars They’re a lot trickier to understand than the conflicts that come up in everyday life and even trickier to settle So how can we even start to understand global conflicts and how they get resolved By breaking them down into their basic parts Look at the facing page to see what those parts are and learn how they fit together Meet a (cid:42)(cid:47)(cid:50)(cid:37)(cid:36)(cid:47) Conflict Although most conflicts around the world from all-out wars to arguments over trading are unique they actually all have the same basic parts Glo bal con flict An often violent disagreement between countries or groups within countries that gets the world’s attention and sometimes involvement 8

Why Do We Fight? Conflict, War, and Peace — page 6 — You’ve got two sides side A and side B A side B side You have the source of the conflict That’s the thing the two sides disagree over You have their relationship going into the conflict SOURCE Are they friendly Are they hostile or somewhere in between options for talking it out or asking for ready to settle it Or are they with war Do they have outside help You have how they’re handling their dispute The two sides usually also have allies friendly nations that support their decisions and want to see them win the conflict If you want to begin to understand any conflict you need to start with the source that is what the countries or groups are fighting over That’s the root of the conflict and it’s not always easy to determine Often the source of a conflict isn’t quite what you think it is and there can be more than one source too But even though there are many conflicts in the world over different issues between different countries and involving different groups of people when you get right down to it they all start for a lot of the same reasons 9

Why Do We Fight? Conflict, War, and Peace — page 7 — chapter1 Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress Mahatma Gandhi leader of Indian independence movement 1869 1948 10

Why Do We Fight? Conflict, War, and Peace — page 8 — D o(cid:58) (cid:43) (cid:60) (cid:38)(cid:50)(cid:49)(cid:41)(cid:47)(cid:44)(cid:38)(cid:55)(cid:54)(cid:3) (cid:34) Come Up Every fight is about something right So what are global conflicts about At their core whether they involve two people or two million all conflicts are about people getting in the way of something someone else wants or needs Wants are things that don’t really do anything to keep you alive but they sure make life more enjoyable and comfortable Things like cool sneakers or a video game Needs are part of the basic everyday business of staying alive They include things like food and water and shelter Many wants and needs are physical you can see them and touch them But there are needs and wants you can’t actually see that are just as important They include things like freedom security and equality You may not think about those things much if you’re lucky enough to live in a country where they’re protected Now imagine living in a place where you’re not allowed to go to school because of your background Or where you’re always afraid of being attacked because of your race or religion Or where you barely have enough food to survive For many people these are everyday sources of conflict Most global conflicts aren’t about just one thing When you start to look closely you’re likely to find there is a lot at stake including some or all of the following E qual i ty The state of things when people have the same rights and the same opportunities no matter what their background religion or gender is Se cu ri ty The feeling that you have everything you need and that you’re safe LAND RESOURCES POWER EQUALITY SECURITY In fact these things are so closely tied to one another that it’s often impossible to separate them Yes every fight is about something But rarely is a fight about one thing 11

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