Civil Wars and Peace - Essay Example

? Civil wars and peace al affiliation Civil wars and peace Civil wars are organized forms of aggression by citizens against their government. Peace, in essence, is the prerequisite for all human rights. Article three of the Universal Human Rights Declaration states that “everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.” It is, therefore, the prerogative of every state to ensure the safety of its citizens and safeguard their human right to security. It, nonetheless, becomes ever more complicated for states to play their part if these are the same citizens they are meant to defend, who are fighting the government. Introduction Human beings have been in conflict with one another for various reasons: political, financial or cultural, for many millennia. In previous years, the most important focus on war was on interstate wars. Nevertheless, in the last two decades, there has been a heave in civil wars around the world. This perturbing trend of citizens rising against their governments needs strict analysis. In this essay, focus will be shed on civil war: the causes, effects, and actions taken to cultivate peace. In most cases, war leads to peace. It has often been said that there cannot be peace without war. Accordingly, this essay will also seek to establish the relationship between war and peace. Causes of civil war Political analysts and theorists of international relations have come up with several theories to explain the occurrence of civil wars. These reasons may vary from one country to another, but fundamentally, economic, political and cultural reasons are the main reasons for civil wars. Distribution of economic resources Most countries that have experienced civil wars can attest to the fact that disproportionate distribution of national resources was one of the factors that led to outbreak of war. When citizens start feeling like they are getting less than they deserve, they riot against the government. A case in point is the Sudanese civil war that lasted over twenty years. Sudan began exporting oil in 1999 and promised that proceeds from oil sales would be distributed equally in the country. However, when the government failed to distribute the wealth to the south, South Sudanese rebels started attacking North Sudan claiming their fair share of oil wealth. The two sides fought over the monopoly of oil profits as each wanted to control the sale of oil. South Sudan accused north Sudan of benefitting from the sale of oil that actually lay in South Sudan. In another case, the long standing civil war in Congo was primarily caused by the vast natural resources found in the country. The availability of minerals such as gold and copper led to conflicts. President Mobutu used the minerals to enrich himself and ensure that he stayed in power (Karl & Heo, 2007). This selfishness angered the citizens and opposition leaders who formed rebel groups to oust Mobutu from office. Political ideologies Differences in political ideologies have often led to civil wars within and among states. According to Levy and Thompson (2011), the type of political ideology that governs a country determines the stability of that particular country. In democratic regimes, citizens enjoy their human and constitutional rights, thus determining the way the state is run. In dictatorial systems, on the other hand, citizens are usually oppressed and do not have a say on how they are governed. Autocratic governments, oppressive as they may be, may not often experience civil wars since the people are afraid of the government. Semi-democratic regimes are more probable to be affected by civil wars. This is because citizens are aware of their rights and are able to petition the government to grant them their rights. In recent times, however, occurrences have proved that citizens can stand up against tyrants. The Arab uprising is one perfect example of how willing citizens can dislodge dictators from power. The Arab spring of 2011 started with the ousting of Tunisia’s Ben Ali, followed by Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and later the strong-man of Libya, Muammar Gaddafi. All the above were dictators who had ruled their respective countries for long, oppressive years. The situation in the Arab countries threatens to become a full civil war, especially with Bahrain, Syria and Yemen seeking to follow the footsteps of their neighbors. Ethnicity Most countries, especially developing countries, continue to grapple with the issue of ethnicity in as far as national security is concerned. Cases of ethnic conflicts are particularly prevalent in Africa. For example, the Rwandan genocide of 1994 was a war between the Hutu and Tutsi communities. Historically, Tutsis were superior to the Hutus and this element was reinforced by the colonial government in Rwanda, when it gave preference to Tutsis over Hutus in political offices. After independence, the Hutu-led Rwandese government marginalized the Tutsis in revenge (Lounsbery & Pearson, 2009). When the Rwandese president of Hutu origin was assassinated in 1993, the Hutus went on a rampage killing any Tutsi on sight. The long lasting civil war in Somalia can partly be attributed to ethnic superiority battles among people of different clans. When British Somaliland was joined to Italian Somaliland, the Somali were forced to live together as one community. However, from time to time, one clan would try to rule over another, leading to conflict. This situation was aggravated by Said Barre, who decided to go about killing people of other clans in order to benefit his own. This led to hostilities among clans and the eventual outbreak of a civil war. Kenya is another African country that has been courting ethnic-based civil war since the 1990s. During the early and late 1990s, Kenya experienced a number of ethnic clashes immediately after each general election. It became almost a trend in Kenya that when a presidential candidate from a particular tribe won the election, the other tribes would pick a fight with the president’s tribe. This phenomenon was fully manifested in 2007 when, after the general elections, the Luo tribe accused the Kikuyu of stealing the votes, thus enabling their candidate win the elections. What followed was violence that saw neighbors fight amongst themselves, based on their ethnic backgrounds. The three-month long conflict resulted in over 1000 deaths and thousands of displaced people. Had it not been for the intervention of the international community, Kenya would have plunged into an ethnic-based civil war. Results of war In any type of conflict, whether intra-state or international, fully fledged war or not, there are serious consequences. The most obvious result is innocent deaths. Whenever people fight, there are numerous deaths, especially in the case of civil wars. Whenever rebels fight against the government and the latter retaliates, the ordinary innocent civilians are the ones who bear the brunt of the war. According Collier (2005), for a violent conflict to achieve the status of a civil war, there has to be over 1000 lives lost. The Rwandese genocide saw the death of over 800,000 people in a period of a hundred days. Apart from loss of life, civil wars lead to wide-spread suffering among people affected by war. During a civil war, many people are left maimed and thousands more become refuges in neighboring countries. Survivors of the Rwandan genocide still have emotional and physical scars of one of the worst genocides in world history. The many refugees escaping fighting in Congo and Sudan often end up in neighboring countries, where they live in squalid conditions. Another consequence of civil war is massive loss of property coupled with economic downfall. During a war, a lot of resources are used to finance the war while numerous economic activities are stalled. This translates to a weak economy that is unable to support its citizens. For example, before the civil unrest in Libya, the country had a very stable economy, no foreign debts, and the government was able to provide for its citizens through the sale of oil. Today, however, barely a year after the fall of Gaddafi, Libya is grappling with massive poverty, unemployment and insecurity. The transitional government has not been able to restore Libya to its former economic position. Fostering peace Countries that have been hit by civil wars often end up finding peace. One of the ways of creating peace within a war torn country is through the involvement of external forces. It is quite obvious that warring groups cannot reach diplomatic settlements on their own without the participation of other countries. Regular meetings were held in Nairobi, Kenya, to discuss prospects for peace so as to stop the two decades of skirmishes in Sudan. Representatives of both Northern and Southern Sudan were allowed to discuss peaceful settlements. By 2011, South Sudan attained independence from the north, concluding years of civil fighting. The United Nations (UN) has been vocal in forestalling or bringing civil wars to an end. The United Nations, for example, played a critical role in peace negotiations in Salvador productively bringing to an end years of struggle in that country. The operation of UN officials to guarantee that human rights were being upheld and that disarmament of rebels saw the war come to an end. The UN has continued to deploy peace keepers to war torn countries to help governments fight rebel combatants and bring about peace. During the post-election violence in Kenya, the UN sent Kofi Anan to lead negotiations between the warring factions. At the end of it, an accord was signed that saw a civil war averted in Kenya. The United Nations through its international court for dealing with crimes has prosecuted people it has found guilty of committing crimes that affected humanity, thereby seeking justice for innocent victims. For instance, Liberia’s former Prime Minister Charles Taylor was recently convicted of committing atrocities against humanity. Another case before the ICC is that of people suspected to have master-minded the violence in Kenya, as well as that of Somali’s Prime Minister, Albashir. Conclusion Evidently, the only way out of civil war is through peaceful negotiations and settlements. Both parties are allowed to state their demands and come to a compromise. What really matters is that at the end of it all, peace is fostered. In some cases, war actually does lead to peace. For example, the people of Rwanda did not appreciate peace until the genocide happened. After the devastating effects of the genocide, the Rwandese vowed never to turn against one another ever again. Rightfully stating, the genocide helped the Rwandese appreciate the essence of peace. In order to promote peace, all factors that lead to war must be addressed and fully dealt with. Otherwise, any peace will be short-lived if only few of the factors leading to war are addressed. Griffiths, O’Callaghan and Roach (2008) referring to the views of St Thomas Aquinas state that “the war must be prosecuted with reluctance, restraint, and a willingness to accept peace when the objectives that justified the war in the first place have been achieved”. References Collier, P. (2005). Understanding Civil War. New York: World Bank Publications. Griffiths, M., O’Callaghan, T., & Roach, S. (2008). International Relations: The Key Concepts. New York: Taylor & Francis. Karl, D., & Heo, U. (2007).Civil wars of the world: major conflicts since World War II. California ABC-CLIO, Inc. Levy, J., & Thompson, W. (2011). Causes of War. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Lounsbery, M., & Pearson, F. (2009). Civil Wars: Internal Struggles, Global Consequences. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Read More