War

Social Problems

War and Terrorism

A thought on war:

 "When people speak to you about

a preventive war, you tell them to

go and fight it. After my

experience, I have come to hate

war. War settles nothing."





 (Eisenhower, Dwight D., cited in The New Dictionary of

Thoughts. Cincinnati: Standard Book Company, 1957.)

War

 War = the pattern of large groups of people

methodically trying to kill one another

 armed conflict between two countries or groups

within a country

 includes undeclared battles, civil conflicts,

guerrilla wars, covert operations, terrorism

 relies on collective violence as opposed to

interpersonal violence



 Audio Lecture #7 by Robert Brym on War,

2002

Brym on War

 Societal warfare has replaced interstate war

 Risk of war varies by:

 Type of government (democratic, authoritarian, or

intermediate)

 Level of prosperity

 Democracies and autocracies lower risk of

war, but intermediate high because of lack of

stable government ie Iraq now

Other Factors Related to War

 In authoritarian states:

 a secondary consequence of a military-state

connection

 is designed to engender patriotism and to justify

penalizing political dissidents.

 Decentralized leadership less likely to be

warlike than is centralized leadership

Other factors

 Ideologies and religion also influence politics

and war

 Politics occur between states

 World system theory (Wallerstein) and

unequal relations between core and

peripheral nations

 Advances in military technology

 Technology has made warfare more lethal

 Human consequences

 Ecological consequences

Terrorism

 any act by an individual or by a group that is

intended to undermine the legitimate authority of

a government or state

 roots of terrorism found in religious, ethnic

nationalist, political, economic, and social

differences



 Audio Lecture #5 by Robert Brym on

Terrorism

Other Types of Terrorism

 Narcoterrorism- use of violence in the

trafficking of drugs

 State terrorism refers to the terrorism of the

government against their own people

 Revolutionary terrorism- to bring about total

political change

Ecoterrorism

 destruction of environment as a weapon

 U.S. military's use of Agent Orange in

Vietnam

 destruction of Kuwaiti oil wells by retreating

Iraqi military forces during the 1991 Persian

Gulf War

 see: http://www.worldcentric.org/conscious-

living/militarism-and-conflicts

Origins of Terrorist Groups

 Many terrorist groups have originated out of

troubled areas of the world

 Middle East

 Northern Ireland

 Political radicalism is a source of terrorism

 Terrorism can have its origin in cults

 Terrorism can originate out of the State to

maintain power

Origins (cont.)

 Characteristics of terrorist recruits

 Well educated

 Young

 Upper-middle class or middle-class

background

 Terrorism emerges out of the despair bred by

the economic deprivation in parts of the world

 Terrorists operate on a belief system based

on salvation through violence

Terrorism and Religion

 Terrorists groups are often motivated by deep

religious convictions

 Not religion that is the actual motivation, but

the presence of a totalitarian belief system

 Violence is often committed against known

and unknown victims

 Random victims

 Select targets because of their

prominence in society

Terrorism’s Impact on Society

 The primary impact of terrorism on society are:

 Increased fear and heightened security

 Erosion of civil liberties

 Economic consequences

 Health consequences

 Political consequences

Social and health consequences of

war and terrorism on individuals

 Social:

 kills many people

 costs a lot of money

 shattering of morale

 use of children in warfare

 Health consequences for both veterans and

civilians:

 Also affects civilians who are sheltered from combat itself.

 Exposure to war increases the risk of health problems, and

lowers life expectancy.

 Veterans suffer from psychological disorders.

 Victims of terrorism at risk of psychological trauma

Are Anti-Terrorism Measures

Working?

 Terrorist attacks worldwide are increasing

 For example, here is an msnbc newsclip

indicating terrorist attacks in 2006 up 25%..



 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/1

8404895#18404895

Example: Recent terrorist attacks

against U.S in 2008.…

 May 26, Iraq: a suicide bomber on a motorcycle kills six U.S. soldiers and

wounds 18 others in Tarmiya.

 June 24, Iraq: a suicide bomber kills at least 20 people, including three U.S.

Marines, at a meeting between sheiks and Americans in Karmah, a town

west of Baghdad.

 June 12, Afghanistan: four American servicemen are killed when a roadside

bomb explodes near a U.S. military vehicle in Farah Province.

 July 13, Afghanistan: nine U.S.soldiers and at least 15 NATO troops die

when Taliban militants boldly attack an American base in Kunar Province,

which borders Pakistan. It's the most deadly against U.S. troops in three

years.

 Aug. 18 and 19, Afghanistan: as many as 15 suicide bombers backed by

about 30 militants attack a U.S. military base, Camp Salerno, in Bamiyan.

Fighting between U.S. troops and members of the Taliban rages overnight.

No U.S. troops are killed.

 Sept. 16, Yemen: a car bomb and a rocket strike the U.S. embassy in

Yemen as staff arrived to work, killing 16 people, including 4 civilians. At

least 25 suspected al-Qaeda militants are arrested for the attack.

 This is only against the U.S…..every day there are reports of attacks

against others, including our Canadian soldiers in Afganistan

Can Terrorism Be Prevented?

 A Homeland Security Report 2007 used a case study

approach to determine what factors were effective in

deterring or preventing terrorism

 “results indicated that the most influential factors

determining the success or failure of a terrorist

attack are those that occur in the pre-execution

phases. While safeguards and controls at airports

and rail stations are critical, they are most effective

when coupled with factors that can be leveraged to

detect the plot in the planning stages”

 (http://www.homelandsecurity.org/hsireports/reasons_for_terroris

t_success_failure.pdf, retrieved Apr. 3, 2008)

Early Prevention Strategies

(Homeland Security Report, 2007)

 Major cause of failure of a terrorist attack is

poor terrorist operational security. Need to

capitalize on this when possible…

 Encourage increased vigilance amongst both the

public and security services

 Create better awareness by utilizing “terrorist

profile indicators”

 Increase information sharing both laterally and

downward

 Enhance international cooperation

The Cost of War

 Globally: $1 trillion dollars on military, for

making weapons and training people to kill

 U.S. : approx $450 billion

 Report of the UN Secretary-General put the

economic costs to the international

community of seven major wars in the 1990s,

not including Kosovo, at $199 billion



 See http://www.worldcentric.org/conscious-

living/militarism-and-conflicts

The Cost of War (cont.)

 Loss of life in battle:

 Between 1100 and 1925 about 35 million

soldiers were killed in 862 wars

 During World War II 17 million soldiers

and 35 million civilians were killed

Social Costs

 In 2004, about 2 million veterans were receiving

compensation from the U.S. government for war-

related disabilities

 War takes a psychological toll on soldiers

 Posttraumatic stress disorder

 war victims who are civilians has increased from 5

per cent to over 90 per cent

 at least half of victims now are children

 1986-96: approximately 2 million children killed in

armed conflict (3 times that amount were injured or

disabled in wars)

 See http://www.unicef.org/graca/

Social Costs (Children)

 "More and more of the world is being sucked

into a desolate moral vacuum. This is a

space devoid of the most basic human

values; a space in which children are

slaughtered, raped, and maimed; a space in

which children are exploited as soldiers; a

space in which children are starved and

exposed to extreme brutality.“

 Graça Machel, “The Impact of Armed Conflict

on Children,” 1996 Report submitted to UN

Social Costs (cont.)

 War is a major factor in mass migration of

populations

 Between 1986 and 1999 there have

been over 1.3 million refugees were

granted asylum in the United States

 Government policy during war has also forced

population migration

 WW II and German relocation policy of

Jews and others

Biological theories of the

origins of war and terrorism

 humans are “naturally” prone to violent behaviour

 Sociobiological theories

 Aggression and violence as a genetic trait to enhance

survival of the human species

 Konrad Lorenz

 Aggression as an instinct in humans

 Aggression is linked to territoriality

 Edward O. Wilson

 Genetic predisposition to aggression

 Aggression channeled through culture

Psychological approaches

 war is a natural phenomenon that develops when

resources fought over are scarce

 or when superiority and victory are central to a

group's identity

 psychologists study how 'normal' people can change

during wartime into soldiers capable of killing and

injuring others seemingly without hesitation and

remorse

 Famous experiments – Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison

Study, Milgram’s Authoritarianism Study

Would war change you??

 “War is an environment that will

psychologically debilitate 98 percent of

all who participate in it for any length of

time. And the 2 percent who are not

driven insane by war appear to have

already been insane – aggressive

psychopaths – before coming to the

battlefield.”

 (from On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning

to Kill in War and Society by Lt. Col. Dave

Grossman, 1995)

Structural Functionalism

 War fulfills a variety of functions such as

increasing social cohesion and group identity,

increasing employment and production, and

facilitating new scientific and technological

innovations



 Did 9/11 and the war in Iraq increase

solidarity and cohesion in the U.S.?

Conflict Theory

 War benefits groups such as corporations,

politicians, and the military

 Marx and Lenin on War

 Karl Marx- war was based on the interests of the

economic elites to acquire raw materials and to

expand capitalism

 Vladimir Lenin- saw warfare as stemming from

competition among capitalist nations for the

expansion of global economic dominance

Symbolic Interactionism

 Meanings and definitions influence attitudes and

behaviours toward conflict and war

 Media plays a large role in shaping beliefs and

attitudes

 Media main vehicle for propaganda used by

government to influence public opinion

 Eg: newsreels used during WWII to recruit soldiers

and to persude women to fill vacant jobs, and then to

return to the home after the war (Rosie the Riveter)

Feminism

 Note that wars have been primarily fought by

men

 The association of masculinity and militarism

begins with childhood socialization.

 Feminists also study the effects of war on

women.

Other Theories About War and Its

Origins

 Institutional Forces Within Nations

 C.Wright Mills and “The Power Elite”

 Economic institutions and the military elite

have come to shape economic life around

their view of the world and the interests of the

military

 Politics and the forging of public opinion in

support of war (media and propaganda)

 Nationalism and warfare

Other (cont.)

 Harold Lasswell and “The Garrison State”

 Military leaders impose dictatorial

power on society

 Channel state resources for military

use

 Control public support through

propaganda

Social Constructionism and the

Role of “Moral Entrepreneurs”

 “Social problems are created through the

actions of others which raise our

consciousness to issues in society”

 Moral entrepreneurs have power to label

and define the problem

 Moral entrepreneurs use “claims making

activities” (Specter and Kitsuse) to bring

public onside

 (See Intro Lecture)

Claims Making and the 2003

War in Iraq

 Stage 1: Problem Definition

 - get public to recognize and accept that Saddam

Hussein and Iraq behind 9/11 attack

 Stage 2: Legitimacy

 - get acceptance from U.S. public and other allies

(Britain, Australia, Canada, etc.)

 Stage 3: Reemergence of demands

 - find “evidence” to support claims

 Stage 4: Rejection and institution building

 - measures to “solve” the problem: war, Homeland

security, international cooperation in “war on terror”

Creation of a Moral Panic

 “You’re either with us (the U.S.) or you are

with the terrorists (essentials of Bush

position)

 With the aid of the media, created a global

moral panic and international cooperation for

war in both Afghanistan and Iraq

CBC Video:

The Lies That Led To War

 Produced by The Fifth Estate (2007)

 A tale of the deceit and propaganda used to

convince Americans (and others) to support

war against Iraq



 Watch: The Lies That Led to War

Aftermath: Doubt about 9/11

and the role of the U.S.

 A recent survey of 16,063 people in 17

countries (Globe and mail, Sept. 11, 2008) by

WorldPublicOpinion.org found little consensus

about 9/11 attack

 Overall, only 46% thought al-Qaeda responsible

 But 15% said U.S., 7% said Israel, 7% said “other”,

25% “don’t know”

 In Turkey 33%, Mexico 30% and Germany 23%

thought U.S. while in Egypt 43% thought Israel

How can we prevent war?

 According to Tepperman et. al., by:

 developing policies that are aimed at reducing

conflict.

 limiting the production and sale of arms

 by redistributing economic resources more

equally among nations

 making better use of international bodies

dedicated to peacekeeping

International Efforts to Curb

War and Terrorism

 League of Nations and later the United

Nations are examples of attempts to arrive at

global cooperation among nations

 Global conflicts and the U.S. as

peacekeepers

 Less than successful

 International trade and the economic

incentive for peace

 International peacekeeping institutions and

international law

International (cont.)

 The war in Iraq, a growing crisis over North

Korea, Iran’s threats to renew their

production of nuclear weapons, and other

events have made the world situation

increasingly gloomy

 There has been a rise of negative feelings

about the United States in that the country is

not exerting positive leadership in seeking

world peace

International (cont.)

 Unsuccessful attempts at arms control

 United Nations

 International Atomic Energy

Commission was formed in 1945 to

ban nuclear weapons

 Nuclear test ban treaties

 Nuclear anti-proliferation policies

 Controlling the arms merchants

International (cont.)

 Dealing with Terrorism

 Policy of no-concessions to terrorist groups

 Public awareness in controlling terrorism

 Homeland Security Act of 2002 in U.S. and the Anti-

Terrorism Act 2001 and the Public Safety Act 2002

in Canada

 Are our rights and civil liberties being eroded?

 For more on Canadian security, see:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/cdnsecurity/