Session 4 - War is because of 3 reasons only

Waltz focuses on 3 main reasons for going to war, which are due to man, the state, or the structure of the state. However not only does waltz oversimplify several conditions that exist in the world, but also leaves out several potential causes for war.

One potential cause of war missed is religion and culture. From WW2 in which Hitler killed thousands of Jews because he believed that Germans were a superior race and wanted to make Germany a land of the elite race, to today’s conflict between Israel and Palestine over a land that they both claim lay to but over different reasons, none being willing to listen to the other due to their cultural and religious differences.

Another potential cause of war that Walts conveniently leaves out are the economic factors. Several wars have been fought to gain some economic benefit. Several issues have sparked up between countries over some economic benefit (such as an oil field) that both lay claim to, or even one country attacking another country to claim that countries oil fields for its own benefit (for example it is claimed by many that US attacked Iraq for its oil, another example is the Iraq-Kuwait war that many believed happened because Iraq wanted to control Kuwait’s Oil fields). Others economic factors that have led to war are mineral deposits or even water.

History is another reason for war that was missed by Waltz. There have been several wars between states because either they were enemies in the past, or one state was part of another larger state which then got separated. For example there are some who believe that Iraq invaded Kuwait 1990 because Kuwait was once part of Iraq but got separated by the British. Another recent conflict example is that of between Russia and Ukraine, with one reason why it started was because Ukraine was part of Russia in the past.

Reasons for why a war starts is a complicated issue that Waltz has not only oversimplified, but has also left out several of the important reasons.