Civil War - Research Paper Example

Civil War Civil wars are normally characterized by fierce and bloody fighting that in most cases does not adhere to the international set standards for a conventional war. A civil war is an armed conflict staged by organized groups within a country or nations that were initially the constituents of a single nation but have since favored secession to form independent nations. In most cases, one side has more control of the state than the other does. The main aim of one side is to take control of a particular region or control of the whole country, institute changes in the way of governance or yet still attain independence by breaking away from the main nation. The other group aims at stopping secession, maintaining peace and order and ensuring its hegemony is not undermined. The rebel group that usually starts a civil war is labeled as a terrorist group and thus all measures are taken to ensure it is annihilated. Civil wars are thus very intense, with heavy fighting of the organized groups being exercised. Armed conflicts are rampant in the affected areas with civilians also being largely involved and are the most affected group of all the involved parties. Civil wars lead to loss of lives at times resulting to heavy casualties especially of the civilian population. Forced transfer of people is also a characteristic of civil wars with displacement of people being experienced in the affected regions. Civil wars could involve the whole country or a particular region. Some of the most well known civil wars include the American Civil War and the English Civil War. In the contemporary modern world, civil wars have increased with people becoming aware of their rights and thus not ready to withstand oppressive regimes or economic woes. Most of the civil wars in the world of today are mainly concentrated in the third world countries and the underdeveloped countries with the African continent being the worst hit. Civil wars mainly emanate from two opposing concepts, that of greed and that of grievance. When greed engulfs a certain society then many economic problems are experienced as only a few benefit especially those in powerful positions. Given the greed of the society, may it be economic or political, a faction of the same society protest such greedy practices as corruption and misuse of power, taking up arms against such oppressive regimes. Taking of arms by citizens of a nation protesting against their own government, result to a protracted war consequently a civil war. Such a group relies mainly on the support of the masses, as the fighting rebellious faction tends to claim to be fighting for the interest of the people. Groups fighting in civil wars tend to accord themselves names that are closely related with liberation and independence. Civil wars are also known to be caused by mineral deposits in a country. Rebel forces take by force a certain mineral rich region controlling the region and benefiting immensely from such practices. Once a rebel group has claimed one region of a country, the government deploys its forces to try to repel such rebel groups and consequently a war erupts. Such scenarios have been reported in many parts of the world with Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone being classical examples. In Sierra Leone, diamond deposits sparked a civil with rebel groups fighting government forces to have control of the minerals. The diamonds have since been referred to as blood diamond. In Liberia, the then President Charles Taylor is being tried at the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. Congo DRC is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of mineral deposits. Owing to such vast wealth, rebel groups have organized themselves into well-trained militias to control the vast minerals. The country is thus subdivided into regions with each rebel group taking control of a certain region exploiting the minerals and in the process purchasing weapons for repelling the government forces and other rebel groups. The civil war in Congo has made the country to remain among the poorest nations on earth, yet it is among the richest in terms of mineral deposits. In Sudan, the Christian south has always lamented the discriminatory practices exercised by the northern Arab government. This discrimination in almost all areas made the people of the south to take arms and fight for their freedom and secession from the north, led by the late Dr John Garang. The south for over twenty years had been fighting the north until a peace accord was signed in Nairobi Kenya. The north and the south agreed to work together and maintain the peace of the nation with John Garang being made the vice president of the republic of Sudan. In January 2011, the south decided to secede from the north after a nation wide referendum conducted for the people of the south (Mutwol 67). The English Civil War that started in 1642 led to much destruction leading to the execution of the king, Charles 1, something that has never been witnessed in the history of the country. Among many other reasons, the personality of the king played a major role in sparking the civil war. The king was very arrogant and believed that God chose kings and thus their decisions were always right. He undermined the role of parliament and believed every one including the parliamentarian must obey him. He imposed heavy taxes on the people and in the end, a civil war broke out, when he attempted to raise an army to fight parliament of which parliament represented the people (Trueman 1). The American Civil War is perhaps the most infamous and bloodiest of all civil wars the world has ever experienced. The civil war resulted from the conflict between the south and the north. The northern states had become more industrialized and more liberalized than the southern states. They were thus for the idea of the abolition of slavery. On the other hand, the economy of the south relied heavily on plantation slavery and thus any attempt to abolish slavery was met with fierce opposition. Feeling threatened by the northern states, the south tried to secede which resulted to the civil war which was mainly aimed at preserving the republic and preventing the confederacy from gaining momentum (Shmoop University 1). Civil wars are thus very bloody and lead to the dismantling of many nations’ institutions. In many cases, civil wars result in many countries becoming disoriented and destroyed. In countries where civil wars have occurred especially in the twentieth or the twenty- first centuries, these affected nations have remained among the poorest nations on earth, with some becoming failed states like Somalia. In many civil wars, human rights are not observed nor the international humanitarian laws. This leads to crimes against humanity and war crimes. Except for the American Civil War that preserved the confederacy and thus became an import part of the country’s history, other civil war have resulted to more harm than good and not a single aspect that the people can claim to be proud of (Millar & Steve 23). Works Cited Millar, Mark and McNiven, Steve. Civil War. Volume 1. New York: Marvel Comics, 2007 Mutwol, Julius. Peace Agreements and Civil Wars In Africa. Amherst: Cambria press, 2009. Shmoop University. ‘‘The Civil War.’’ shmoop, 2011. 16 Apr 2011 Trueman, Chris. ‘‘The Causes of the English Civil War.’’ History Learning Site, 2000. 16 Apr 2011 Read More