Armed conflict is an issue of utmost importance in today’s society. War decides who has power and who doesn’t within this globe. It also has been a staple throughout history; humans have always had war and always will in the future. The question is though what causes armed conflict. Above all the internal characteristics of a state contribute most to the likelihood of that state being involved in an armed conflict.
Internal characteristics of a state can be anything such as style of government, type of economy, or even certain ideologies shared by the people. Also the differences in internal characterstics provide reason for armed conflict as well. For example The USSR and the USA shared extreme difference in internal characteristics and were thus at war for most of the 20th century. The United States had a capitalistic republic that was the complete antithesis of Russia’s communism. So the internal characteristics of the United Sates led them to believe that countries who were a threat and showed different characteristics were worthy of going to war for. As with most states you are going to think that all your internal characteristics are correct and thus if another country differs it raises the possibility to enter armed conflict. For example the opposite of this is true, for democracies never fight each other. I’m sure they might have their differences but for some reason if they are both democratic they tend to not fight. This means that if internal characteristics of a state are similar to that of another it lessens the likelihood to enter armed conflict. Some states exhibit the characteristic of xenophobia, which is the severe fear of other countries. This could be motivated by fear, teaching, knowledge, or insecurity but it also raises the possibility to enter war. Lastly things such as political institutions and economic conditions contribute greatly as well. With certain political institutions come certain political ideology and certain...