270 CHAPTER EigHT ■ War and Strife
While the number of interstate wars has declined precipitously, limited wars, and
particularly civil wars that are total in nature, have not. Between 1846 and 1918,
approximately 50 civil wars were fought. In contrast, in the de cade following the end
of the Cold War (1990–2000), the total number of civil wars was about 195. Although
the number of civil wars has declined modestly between 2000 and 2015, two- thirds of
all conflicts since World War II have been civil wars.
Civil wars share several characteristics. They often last a long time, even de cades,
with periods of fighting punctuated by periods of relative calm. Whereas the goals may
seem relatively limited by the standards of major interstate wars— secession, group
autonomy— the human costs are often high because in the context of the rivalry between
incumbent governments and rebels, these stakes are often perceived to be total. Both
combatants and civilians are killed and maimed; food supplies are interrupted; diseases
spread as health systems suffer; money is diverted from constructive economic develop-
ment to purchasing armaments; and generations of people grow up knowing only war.
Most total civil wars are now concentrated on the African continent. Ethiopia’s
war with two of its regions (Ogaden and Eritrea) lasted de cades, as did the civil wars
between the north and south in both Sudan and Chad. Liberia and Sierra Leone, like-
wise, have also been sites of civil conflict where vari ous factions, guerrilla groups, para-
military groups, and mercenaries have fought for control. The Demo cratic Republic of
the Congo is another example of a civil war, but one that has become international-
ized. In 1996, an internal rebellion broke out against the long- time dictator Mobutu
Sese Seko. Very quickly, both Uganda, and Rwanda supported the rebellion, with the
latter interested in eliminating Hutu militias that had fled Rwanda during the 1994
genocide. After Mobutu was ousted and replaced with a new leader, Laurent Kabila, a
wider war erupted two years later. Power ful Congolese leaders and ethnic groups, sup-
ported by Rwanda and Uganda, opposed the new government. Angola and Zimbabwe
supported Kabila’s government, as did Chad and Eritrea. Over 5 million people were
killed between 1998 and 2012, despite the efforts of a large UN peacekeeping force.
In virtually all these cases, the civil wars have been intensified by the availability of
small arms, the recruitment of child soldiers, and financing from illicit trade in nar-
cotics, diamonds, and oil. In all these cases, too, human rights abuses and humanitar-
ian crises have captured media attention but rarely the po liti cal commitment or financial
resources of the international community.
the causes of War
In an analy sis of any war— Vietnam, Angola, Cambodia, World War II, or the Franco-
Prussian War, to take but a few examples—we will find more than one cause for the
outbreak of vio lence. This multiplicity of explanations can seem overwhelming. How