New and Old Wars Comparison Essay

Exclusively available on Available only on IvyPanda® Made by Human No AI

The argument that there are “New wars” dissimilar to older forms of warfare is not only generalist, but also not supported by existing scholarly and objective literature on the subject. According to Mary Kaldor, “New Wars” differ from older forms of warfare in their goals, methods of implementation and financing.

I believe, and will show objective analysis in the subsequent paragraphs, that the only difference between “New Wars” and older types of warfare exists in the manner of financing; however, the goals and methods of implementation of warfare have remained the same throughout the existence of warfare.

In Kaldor’s view, the goals of the “New Wars” are to increase economic gain and impose identity politics “which is inherently exclusive and tends towards fragmentation” (2006). Identity politics involves a “claim to power on the basis of a particular identity” (Kaldor, 2006).

The imposition of identity politics in “New wars” results in the fragmentation of communities and massive resettlement of populations and refugee movement (for example the aftermath of genocide), so much that the movement of these refuges becomes not a by-product of war, but a central goal of it.

Concerning the methods of implementation of these “New wars”, Kaldor is of the view that during the last decades of the twentieth century, a new type of organized violence that incorporated war, organized violence, and human rights violations emerged.

This includes the “privatization of violence” (Kaldor, 2006) creating a scenario where the instruments and means of war are not held by the state but by War loads, criminal gangs and police forces within a particular state.

On the issue of financing these “New wars”, Kaldor argues that the state no longer mobilizes finances for the wars, but – especially in weak Third world governments – the fighting units finance themselves through plunder, hostage taking and the black market, or independently through trafficking in humans, dealing in drugs and arms trade.

On this matter, as stated in the introduction, I concur with Kaldor’s argument that the only difference between “New wars” and older types is in the modality of financing.

To counter kaldor’s theory concerning the goals and implementation methods of the “New wars”, the first counter-argument concerns the matter of goals of the war. Economic gain has always been the paramount objective of wars, and is not a feature exclusive to “New wars”.

More scrutiny and analysis of wars in contemporary times by “academics, policy analysts, and politicians” (Newman, 2004, p.180) has served to highlight the wars, bringing out deeper dynamics of the wars, but the main objectives like economic gain have always been present.

Even the contemporary factor of multinationals selling weapons to the warring parties serves the same purpose – profiting from war. Furthermore, Identity politics and wars based on fragmenting the society along the lines of race, ethnicity, and religion are as old as war itself.

The Armenian genocide of World War I and the Holocaust of World War II are prime examples. The Rwandan genocide of 1994, a supposed “New War”, has similar features with the two previous genocides, which according to Kaldor, are old types of warfare.

In conclusion, I have presented Kaldor’s “New Wars” theory, identifying its goals, methods and financing. I have argued against its goals and methods, focusing on the argument that both goals and methods can be found throughout history in older forms of warfare.

Various violent conflicts, from the present and past, have been addressed and an analysis of the Rwandan genocide, the holocaust, and the Armenian genocide posed. Moreover, the role of the media and advances in information has been analyzed to show that just because there is much more analysis and discussion about wars nowadays does not necessarily make them ‘new’.

References

Kaldor, M. (2006). New and Old Wars, 2nd ed. Cambridge: Polity.

Newman, E. (2004). The ‘New Wars’ debate: A historical perspective is needed. Security Dialogue vol. 35(2) 173-189.

More related papers Related Essay Examples
Cite This paper
You're welcome to use this sample in your assignment. Be sure to cite it correctly

Reference

IvyPanda. (2019, March 21). New and Old Wars Comparison. https://ivypanda.com/essays/international-security/

Work Cited

"New and Old Wars Comparison." IvyPanda, 21 Mar. 2019, ivypanda.com/essays/international-security/.

References

IvyPanda. (2019) 'New and Old Wars Comparison'. 21 March.

References

IvyPanda. 2019. "New and Old Wars Comparison." March 21, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/international-security/.

1. IvyPanda. "New and Old Wars Comparison." March 21, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/international-security/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "New and Old Wars Comparison." March 21, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/international-security/.

If, for any reason, you believe that this content should not be published on our website, please request its removal.
Updated:
This academic paper example has been carefully picked, checked and refined by our editorial team.
No AI was involved: only quilified experts contributed.
You are free to use it for the following purposes:
  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment
Privacy Settings

IvyPanda uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, enabling functionalities such as:

  • Basic site functions
  • Ensuring secure, safe transactions
  • Secure account login
  • Remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
  • Remembering privacy and security settings
  • Analyzing site traffic and usage
  • Personalized search, content, and recommendations
  • Displaying relevant, targeted ads on and off IvyPanda

Please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy for detailed information.

Required Cookies & Technologies
Always active

Certain technologies we use are essential for critical functions such as security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and ensuring the site operates correctly for browsing and transactions.

Site Customization

Cookies and similar technologies are used to enhance your experience by:

  • Remembering general and regional preferences
  • Personalizing content, search, recommendations, and offers

Some functions, such as personalized recommendations, account preferences, or localization, may not work correctly without these technologies. For more details, please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy.

Personalized Advertising

To enable personalized advertising (such as interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. These partners may have their own information collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won't stop you from seeing IvyPanda ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of the information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have the right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

1 / 1