What is war?

 «War is a conflict between political groups involving hostilities of considerable duration and magnitude».

britannica.com

Ability and willingness for war

Being able to fight for what you believe in is deeply rooted in humans. How people fight has changed a lot through history because of the development of technology, population growth, and the lack of resources.

Armed conflict

A conflict is more than a disagreement. It goes on over a long period of time and is serious. The different sides are trying to destroy each other, so people don’t get what they need.

Some things are necessary for us humans, for example clean water, national borders, freedom of religious beliefs, and access to farmland. If those things are threatened by someone, war or an armed conflict may occur.

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Kain og Abel

Cain and Abel

The first murder in the Bible was when Cain killed Abel. The story is about two brothers, Cain and Abel, who were the sons of the first people to live, Adam and Eve.

Cain was the oldest brother and was a farmer. Abel was a shepherd. They made sacrifices to God to show thanks. God was happier with Abel’s sacrifice, and that made Cain jealous. Cain beat Abel to death. Cain is seen as the forefather to evil because of this.

 

What can we learn from this story? There can be conflicts among families, and conflicts can be solved in different ways. This story tells us the worst that can happen. Maybe the author wanted to say that murder should never be the solution.

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Papirbakgrunn 8
Papirbakgrunn 8

War in ancient times

In old times, groups of people organised themselves into tribes. The development of farming made people move to larger cities. They could produce more food and so the population grew as well. The more they produced, the higher status and power they got. Some became warriors to defend themselves.

Gunpowder and cannons

How wars were carried out changed a lot in the 16th century. Gunpowder and cannons were now used in wars. After this, weapons became more common, and soldiers were trained to use them. In the 19th century, what we call total war became a possibility.

This clip from the film «War Horse» contains explicit scenes and has an age limit of 11 years.

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Why is there war?

War often starts because of natural resources, religion, or the wish for political power. Civil war starts in countries when the people begin riots against the leader of the country and the authorities.

There are two sides to every story, and this is also true when it comes to war. The ones who fight often disagree about why they are at war. Experts also disagree about the why of wars.

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Why?

The American Civil War: In the mid-19th century, the southern and northern states of the US did not agree on the right to get out of the Union and slavery. The northern states didn’t want slaves, while the southern states needed them for their plantations.

Abraham Lincoln became president in 1860. After this, seven states left the Union. The president didn’t like this, and a civil war broke out. Four more states left the Union after this. Lincoln wanted to stop slavery in the south, but the plantation owners didn’t like that at all.

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Abraham Lincoln under borgerkrigen
Abraham Lincoln under borgerkrigen

Why?

Israel and Palestine: One of the world’s most difficult conflicts is the one between Israel and Palestine. When Israel became a country in 1948, Palestine was split. The Jews were to share the land with those who lived there from before. They were given their own country because of the treatment they had during the Second World War.

The Bible says that the Israeli people had a pact with God to get their own country. Israel has been in conflict with other groups for many years. The worst was the killing of Jews during the Second World War. After the war the UN established the State of Israel as a part of compensation for how Jews had been treated.

The Palestinians who lived in the area were moved by force. Several conflicts started. The UN has tried to split the area into two parts, but the conflict is too big. In 2021, a new serious conflict started. No one knows how it is going to be in the future.

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Far og sønn demonstrerer mot konflikten mellom Israel og Palestina
Far og sønn demonstrerer mot konflikten mellom Israel og Palestina

Why?

The Gulf War: The Gulf War was an armed conflict between Iraq and Kuwait. Iraq attacked Kuwait in 1990, and the goal was to take control of the oil. The war lasted for six months.

The Middle East area is in conflict because of religious differences, but also because there is a lot of oil in the area, which is valuable to those who can access it. Iran and Iraq are enemies, and Iraq has a lot of debt because of the war against Iran. Iraq thought Kuwait should help delete their loans. Iraq also believed that they had rights to the oil.

Saddam Hussein led Iraq when they attacked Kuwait in 1990. Many countries reacted to this and with help from the UN, made Kuwait independent again. Is it understandable that Iraq and Saddam Hussein felt let down by Kuwait?

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Children on war

Small children know how to fight and what guns and shootings are. They learn this from video games and films. Children can not understand the reality of this, and they are still very young when they start playing war. What do children really know about war?

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Films and TV shows about war

Films and TV shows about war really capture people’s attention. It is exciting, frightening, and realistic at the same time. People love these kinds of movies.

A director will often base a film on a real war, but rewrite the story to make the story their own. So you need to be critical of the source of war films. Directors will always take some liberties, and sometimes they can be too much.

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Krigsfilm på kino
Krigsfilm på kino

Peaceful solutions

War is about making your enemy helpless. Conflicts and wars will never end, but we must never give up the fight to find peaceful solutions.

Nobel Peace Prize

Alfred Nobel wanted to reward those who worked for peace. Since 1895, the Nobel Peace Prize has been given out. It is a very important price.

Sources:

  • Høiback, Harald: Krigskunstens historie – Fra 1500 til i dag.
    Cappelen Damm AS (2014)
  • Høiback, Harald; Cooper, Camilla Guldahl: krig i Store norske leksikon på snl.no.
    Hentet 8. desember 2020fra https://snl.no/krig
  • Steen, Tone: Sparta i Store norske leksikon på snl.no.
    Hentet 8. desember 2020 fra https://snl.no/Sparta
  • Arntzen, Jon Gunnar; Mæhlum, Lars: Nobelprisen i Store norske leksikon på snl.no.
    Hentet 8. desember 2020 fra https://snl.no/Nobelprisen
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