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Conflict Topics
An overview of selected aspects of contemporary conflict dynamics, intended
to provide students and scholars with access to useful information and Internet
links.
Child Soldiers
An estimated 300,000 children and young teens are serving as combatants in civil
conflicts around the world. Although responsible for inflicting injuries, these
young soldiers are also victims of war, in that they are often forced into military
service and are denied the right to education and a safe and secure childhood.
Refugees, Forcible Displacement, and
International Security
There are more than 40 million forcibly displaced persons worldwide. Refugee
and other displaced populations have been at the heart of recent debates on
international security and humanitarian intervention.
Resource Conflict
Throughout human history, competition over access to scarce or especially valuable
resources -- water, arable land, gold, spices, furs, oil, timber, diamonds,
and minerals -- has been an important source of conflict. Many analysts believe
that resource competition and conflict will increase in the 21st century due
to globalization, population growth, excessive exploitation, and climate change.
Conflict
Diamonds
The illicit sale of rough diamonds has been used by embattled warlords and rebel
leaders in several war-torn countries (especially Angola, Congo, Liberia, and
Sierra Leone) to finance the purchase of arms, ammunition, and other war-related
materials, thereby extending the fighting (at great human cost) and frustrating
efforts to achieve a peaceful settlement. In an effort to stop the fighting,
peace groups and others have campaigned for an international ban on the sale
of these "conflict" or "blood" diamonds."
Oil Conflict:
Conflict over the control of valuable oil supplies has been a persistent feature
of international affairs since the beginning of the 20 th century. Such
conflict varies in nature, ranging from territorial disputes over the possession
of oil-laden border areas to dynastic or factional struggles among the leaders
of oil-rich countries to major inter-state wars over the control of vital oil
zones. As oil becomes more scarce and valuable, the frequency and severity
of such conflict is likely to increase.
Small
Arms Proliferation and International Security
Small arms and light weapons are the most widely used instruments of combat
in ethnic and internal conflicts. As a result, growing attention is being devoted
to the small arms issue by The United Nations, international organizations,
concerned states, and non-governmental organizations.
Violence Against Women in War and Peace
Violence against women can be found worldwide, in virtually every country and
society. There has been considerable progress in guaranteeing the full rights
of women and ending violence against women, but much still needs to be done.
Weapons of Mass Destruction
The dangers posed by weapons of mass destruction have come to occupy center stage
in international politics. Over the past century, various states have built and
stockpiled lethal arsenals of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and associated
material. These weapons have very different capabilities, effects, and military
roles: there are some 30,000 nuclear weapons with truly devastating destructive
power; chemical weapon stockpiles and their associated 71,000 metric tons of
extremely toxic chemical agents scattered around the world; and unknown quantities
of biological weapons and lethal pathogens that could spread disease to humans,
animals or plants.
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