• August 28 1991 Iraq invaded and occupied Kuwait
  • Iraq claimed Kuwait was a province
  • They needed to control the oil supply in the Middle East (Kuwait is an oil-rich country)
• The United Nations condemned the invasion --> resolutions called for an immediate withdrawal
  • Sanctions were imposed
  • UN authorized the use of force
• US deployed military troops in the Gulf to protect Saudi Arabia
• A US led coalition initially held little support in their countries. As war raged on they gained greater support
• Iraq took Western civilians hostage (responding to the military buildup)
  • Hussain said he would only withdraw if the Jews withdrew from Palestine
    • Tried to break up the Arab-American coalition
• The Bush administration considered the sanctions to slow and they decided to invade Iraq
• A 40-day air campaign against Iraq crippled the air defences
• Iraq launched SCUD missiles into Saudi Arabia and Israel
• A 100-hour ground offensive ended the war
• Ceasefire was called on 27 Feb 1991
• The costs of the war were high
  • Germany, SA, Japan and Kuwait covered the war
  • A high death rate among Iraqi civilians
  • People were displaced
  • In the NORTH the Kurds were suppressed by Hussein; in the South the Shiites were also discriminated against. These areas are now patrolled by coalition fighters (to protect the minorities)
• Hussein blew up a number of oil fields in Iraq-> He threw oil in the sea
• Sanctions remain in force against Iraq

Ethiopia and Eritrea

• June 5 1998 Ethiopian aircraft bombed Eritrea
• A land force invasion began on June 12
• For 17 years Eritreans had fought for a separate state -> they had achieved this
• Both countries made committments to lasting economic partnerships
  • Economic disputes broke out
  • Ethnic conflicts and grievances began to surface
• Eritrean troops had seized an important Ethiopian province (this provoked the air campaign)
• Neither side ever gained a military advantage
• The war displaced a number of civilians and numerous died
• The war was fought using WW1 tactics and technology
• By April 2000 the war had diminished
• The civilian population suffered -> famine, drought, disease, ethnic cleansing
• Infrastructure was destroyed
• Peace agreement was signed in December 2000 -> border would be created and UN peacekeeping force would partrol the area

Possible Future Wars

1. Greece and Turkey: Both claim control over islands in the Aegean Sea
2. India and Pakistan: Fought three wars, both countrys are nuclear powers
3. China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Phillipines: All claim control over the mineral rich Spratlay Islands
4. Israel and Syria are fighting for the Golan Heights and in Lebanon
5. North and South Korea: Increased tension among a communist and democratic society
6. Peru and Ecuador: Last war occured in 1941-> now fight over border

Intrastate Conflicts

These are conflicts that are fought on a substate level. Usually between communal groups.

What is a communal group? A sense of common identity unites a particular group. The stronger the forces of unification the greater the likelihood of collective political action.

Usually based on following characteristics:

• Ethnicity
• Historical experience or myth
• Religous beliefs
• Region of residence
• Familial ties (clans, tribes)

Communal conflict usually occurs because of some sort of economic/political grievances, the need for autonomy, the desire for social change, primordialism (hatred a group may have against another), incitement by political leaders, the increased loyalty towards an ethnic group over the state and finally the loss of a political centre (fall of British Empire caused conflicts in many Dominions because of a lack of authority)

Ethnic Cleansing: Forced removal of people from their area of residence. Could use mass murder, destruction of homes, terror and even rape.

Case Studies

Yugoslavia

• State created after the disintegration of the Austro Hungarian and Ottoman empires
• Serbia, Montenegro, Slovenia and Croatia formed this federated state
  • During WW2 all ethnic groups committed violence against each other
• Yugoslavia was a federal state composed of 8 republics and provinces
  • Ruled by Josef Tito (A dictator)
  • Tito died in 1980 and the army took over (dominated by Serbs)
  • Slovenia and Croatia were alienated
• Slovenia and Croatia declared independence in 1991.
  • Slobodan Milosevic (leader of Serbia) wanted Yugoslavia to remain federated
  • He authorized the use of military force against Slovenia and Croatia
  • He failed and withdrew from Slovenia and Croatia
• War also spread in Bosnia (Muslim government ruled)
  • Nationalist movements by Serbs and Croats wanted independence
  • Ethnic cleansing followed with months of fighting
  • Bosnian Serbs were succeding with the support of Milosevic
• The Serbs began to withdraw because
  • Muslims and Croats formed an alliance
  • NATO intervened
• IN 1995 peace was brought -> Dayton Agreement
  • Nato troops were deployed in the region

Somalia

• Became independent out of colonial Africa in 1960
• Major General Mohammad Siad Barre took control and tried to make a socialist state
• 70s and 80s opposition to Barres rule increased
• 1991 Barre was ousted by a coalition of opposition clans
  • The clans took power but soon began fighting amongst themselves
• 16 months of war destoyed the Somalian infrastructure
• Clan conflict continued and UN peacekeepers, along with American troops were forced to withdraw
• The country is still divided with armed conflicts continuing

Chechnya coming soon...