Effects of War: Strategies Dynamics and Consequences in Military Conflicts

By Fouad Sabry

What is Effects of War

The effects of war  are widely spread and can be long-term or short-term. Soldiers experience war differently than civilians. Although both suffer in times of war, women and children suffer the most in particular. In the past decade, up to two million of those killed in armed conflicts were children. The widespread trauma caused by these atrocities and suffering of the civilian population is another legacy of these conflicts, the following creates extensive emotional and psychological stress. Present-day internal wars generally take a larger toll on civilians than state wars. This is due to the increasing trend where combatants have made targeting civilians a strategic objective. A state conflict is an armed conflict that occurs with the use of armed force between two parties, of which one is the government of a state. "The three problems posed by state conflict are the willingness of UN members, particularly the strongest member, to intervene; the structural ability of the UN to respond; and whether the traditional principles of peacekeeping should be applied to intra?state conflict". Effects of war also include mass destruction of cities and have long lasting effects on a country's economy. Armed conflict has important indirect negative consequences on infrastructure, public health provision, and social order.

How you will benefit

(I) Insights, and validations about the following topics:

Chapter 1: Effects of war

Chapter 2: Civilian casualties

Chapter 3: International Rescue Committee

Chapter 4: Internally displaced person

Chapter 5: Forced displacement

Chapter 6: International humanitarian law

Chapter 7: Second Sudanese Civil War

Chapter 8: Human security

Chapter 9: United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325

Chapter 10: Geneva Call

(II) Answering the public top questions about effects of war.

Who this book is for

Professionals, undergraduate and graduate students, enthusiasts, hobbyists, and those who want to go beyond basic knowledge or information for any kind of Effects of War.

• Language: English
• Publisher: One Billion Knowledgeable
• Release date: Jun 17, 2024

Book preview

Chapter 1: Effects of war

It is possible for the repercussions of conflict to be either short-term or long-term, and they are widespread. It is common practice to ignore and undervalue the significance of these indirect impacts.

According to one example, the population of the German states decreased by approximately thirty percent during the Thirty Years' War that took place throughout Europe. During the 872-day Siege of Leningrad, the city of Leningrad had the highest number of civilian casualties in a single city, with 1.2 million inhabitants losing their lives.

It is possible that the economy will have devastating effects both during and after a period of war. According to Shank's perspective, negative unintended consequences occur either concurrently with the war or develop as residual effects afterwards thereby impeding the economy over the longer term . It is possible for a government to make the decision to allocate funds to the funding of war efforts, leaving other organizations with a limited or nonexistent budget.

In some instances, war has been shown to promote the economy of a country. For example, World War II is frequently credited for bringing the United States of America out of the Great Depression. According to the World Bank, in the event that conflicts in the country cease to exist and in the event that there is a transition to democracy, the following will result in an increase in economic growth: encouraging investment of the country and its people, investment in education, economic restructuring, provision of public goods, and a reduction in social unrest. One of the benefits that is most frequently mentioned for the economy is an increase in the growth of the GDP. This has been the case throughout all of the wartime periods, with the exception of the wars that took place in Afghanistan and Iraq. One more advantage that is frequently emphasized is that World War II was instrumental in establishing favorable conditions for future prosperity and putting an end to the Great Depression. In past instances, such as the wars of Louis XIV, the Franco-Prussian War, and World War I, the primary purpose that combat serves is to cause economic damage to the countries who are caught in the conflict. By way of illustration, Russia's participation in World War I had such a devastating impact on the Russian economy that it came dangerously close to collapsing, which was a significant factor that led to the beginning of the Russian Revolution in 1917.

The destruction of infrastructure has the potential to bring about a catastrophic collapse in the social connected structure, as well as in the education and health care systems. This includes the elimination of particular transit routes within a city, which may render it nearly difficult for the economy to operate in an appropriate manner. For example, warring sides frequently burn bridges in order to distance themselves from the attackers. This results in the creation of barriers for the movement of people, not only in the near term (the evacuation of population), but also in the long term, after the lines of control are redrawn.

As a result of the repercussions of war, the work force of the economy must also undergo adjustments. The labor force is impacted in a variety of ways, the most common of which are the significant loss of life, the shift in population, the reduction in the size of the labor force as a result of the migration of refugees and displacement, and the destruction of infrastructure, which in turn allows for a decline in productivity.

The legal framework that is applicable to situations of armed conflict and occupation is referred to as international humanitarian law (IHL), which is also known as the laws of war and the law of armed conflict. The purpose of this set of rules and principles is to reduce the negative impacts of armed conflict for the sake of humanitarian humanitarianism.

The number of French soldiers who succumbed to typhus during Napoleon's retreat from Moscow was more than the number of Russian soldiers who were slain. On top of that, if it weren't for the advancements that have been made in contemporary medicine, there would be countless more people who have died from diseases and infections.

A community and an individual can be negatively impacted by displacement or forced migration, which occurs most frequently during times of war and can have a negative impact on both parties. When a conflict breaks out, a great number of people run away from their homes out of fear of losing their lives and their families. As a consequence, they become disoriented either inwardly or externally on account of their displacement. Individuals who are compelled to leave the borders of their country and relocate to another country are considered to be externally displaced. One example of this is the Syrian Refugees. One or more of the following may have a significant impact on the economy of a nation.

During the year 2015, Somalia, Afghanistan, and Syria were the countries of origin for 53 percent of the world's refugees. Countries such as Pakistan (with 1.6 million displaced persons), Lebanon (with 1.1 million), and Turkey (with 2.5 million) are among the top performers in terms of assimilating these individuals. During times of violence, people are forced to flee their homes and search for locations where they are accepted, and they occasionally find themselves in places where they are not accepted anymore.

During the year 2001, Australia started a contentious proposal known as the Pacific Solution in response to an inflow of refugees and asylum seekers from countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, and Sri Lanka. The plan called for all asylum seekers who arrived by boat to be transferred to the small and desolate island of Nauru. Manual labor, carpentry, masonry, and government services are all areas in which men are able to benefit, whereas women have traditionally earned their income through informal work. In a post-displacement situation, where women do not have access to the same tools as they did before they were displaced, it is more challenging for them to find alternative employment opportunities.

As a consequence of the armed war and the military occupation, the Palestinian people have been forced to relocate, which has caused them great suffering. The most significant displacement that was brought about by conflict took place in 1947, when the United Nations reached an agreement to divide Palestine into two states. After some time, the Israeli government came to the conclusion that Palestinian refugees might no longer be allowed to return to their homelands, unless it was for the purpose of reuniting a family.

As a result of a country's economic crisis, there is a rise in the number of people living in poverty, which leads to a decrease in the number of people receiving an education.

According to Baden and Goetz (1997), conflict has a negative influence on both women and men, which frequently leads to gender-specific challenges that are not recognized or handled by mainstream societies all over the world. Women are more likely to die from indirect reasons than they are from direct causes, which means that war has a different impact on them than it does on men. Women and girls suffered disproportionately during and after war, as existing inequalities were magnified, and social networks broke down, making them more vulnerable to sexual violence and exploitation, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations.

There are two primary contributions that war makes to the destruction of the environment. In the first place, there are the direct repercussions of eradicating native biota, and in the second place, there are the indirect implications of denying animals the resources they require to exist, or perhaps their entire habitat.

The destruction, confiscation, looting, and robbery of cultural assets are among potential outcomes that might place during times of war.

War is a leading cause of forced migration, which can result in significant population displacements. As a result of the fact that there are typically very large proportions of artists and other sorts of creative persons contained within the population of forced migrants, the repercussions of the conflict are particularly detrimental to the creative potential of the nation in the long run.

The structures of the government, as well as the people who hold positions of authority within the government, are ultimately impacted when war breaks out.

A political scientist by the name of Jeffrey Herbst contends that the occurrence of interstate war is an essential component in the development of powerful states.

One centralized, coercive, and powerful state power that had a large-scale monopoly on violence was established as a result of the launching of wars that concluded in the eradication of local competitors.

This large-scale monopoly on violence that the state had was eventually expanded to serve the state's clients or supporters for the purpose of serving the state's interests. This resulted in the establishment of police forces, which allowed for the provision of protection as a governmental function, and it also supported pacification.

The extraction of resources from the populace and the accumulation of wealth are both necessary ingredients for the production of war and the expansion of military power. Throughout the course of history, this resulted in the development of fiscal and accounting institutions with the purpose of collecting taxes from the populace in order to fund war.

Last but not least, the people of the state requested the establishment of representative institutions, courts of law, and guarantees of rights. Their resistance to the state's decision to wage war and make concessions resulted in the state making concessions. Because of this, the populace was able to safeguard their personal property without being permitted to resort to the use of force, which would have put the state's monopoly on violence at risk.

Interdependence existed between the process of making war and the subsequent processes of extraction, protection, and state formation. In the end, Tilly contends that the interplay between these four processes had an impact on the traditional European experience of state formation.

On a global scale, the definition of armed conflict is not entirely obvious. In accordance with the 1949 Geneva Conventions, common article 2 specifically stipulates that "all cases of declared war or of any armed conflict that may arise between two or more high contracting parties, even if the state of war is not recognized, the convention shall also apply to all cases of partial or total occupation of the territory of a high contracting party even