Factors That Lead to War

A war is started to settle an arousal of disputes over matters of territory, sovereignty, resource and ideology when no peaceful solution is available, utilized, or searched. By the word territory, we are pointing to the land which nations possess, and sovereignty refers to the authority power of the leaders of each country. Resource is the materials of which a country is able to produce with the availability of certain goods, while ideology is the system of ideas and beliefs of which humans possess and is able to conclude certain actions by their own will

The most basic motivation of war is the willingness of oneself to start it, with the support of the leadership, military forces and population of the country. Non-military companies support wars because of their own personal interests in gaining access to materials of the enemy. Being successful in war, they will benefit from the gained resource materials. The media will also promote war because they are rewarded for publishing false or misleading information to the opposing country, and that they do not gain anything from opposing the war.

By far, there are 5 major theories that will be discussed here, namely

• Psychological theories

• Anthropological theories

• Demographic theories

• Rationalist theories

• Economic theories

Psychological theories

This theory argues that war is a conversion of an individual’s grievances into bias and hatred towards other ethnic groups, nations or ideologies. Theorists have found that humans are inherently violent, and to show it, they will vent it on the things that they dislike, thus creating an alter ego. War is known as an innate of human nature, and that is why there will be no possibility in stopping it. Even though so, it does not explain when or how wars occur, and how certain human cultures are completely devoid of war.

Anthropological theories

This theory explains war as an attempt of two societies to destroy or weaken the other party to gain control over their possessions. Their mindset was acquired from their religion, ideology, and nationalism, which promotes their patriotism, and that they see no link between forms of violence. Ashley Montagu is a theorist of this category, seeing the top-down nature of war, where the population is led by a leader to war and not by the wills of themselves. The citizens themselves see the need to fight for their own nation and the good of the people, and that they are the fated people to wage a patriotic fight against the opposition nation and forces.

Demographic theories

It is discussed in this theory, that war is the result of increasing population and limited resources. According to Thomas Robert Malthus, an influential demographer and political economist, populations will continue to increase until they are limited by war, disease or famine. Another example shall be Pope Urban II who led the First Crusade into war to free the Christians in Jerusalem from the Muslims. The day before the First Crusade in 1095, Pope Urban II said:

"For this land which you now inhabit, shut in on all sides by the sea and the mountain peaks, is too narrow for your large population; it scarcely furnishes food enough for its cultivators.