Some Causes of Wars

"I used to think that the causes of war were predominantly economic. I came to think that they were more psychological. I am now coming to think that they are decisively "personal," arising from the defects and ambitions of those who have the power to influence the currents of nations." ~ B. H. Liddell Hart

"According to the first image of international relations, the locus of the important causes of war is found in the nature and behavior of man. Wars result from selfishness, from misdirected aggressive impulses, from stupidity." ~ Kenneth Waltz

"Instead of hating the people you think are war-makers, hate the appetites and disorder in your own soul, which are the causes of war. If you love peace, then hate injustice, hate tyranny, hate greed - but hate these things in yourself, not in another." ~ Thomas Merton

Most wars are caused by complex political and socioeconomic historical reasons and factors.

The greed for natural resources, land and wealth, producing strength and power of leaders of Nations can cause conflict and War. Over the centuries we have seen this through imperialism and colonialism.

Ideological and religious differences interweaved with political systems of freedom versus dictatorships and how people should be governed linked to religious beliefs can spark the fire for wars.

Wars can also be caused by intense pride of an ethnic group which is linked to a nation and a state linked to land, and sovereignty and borders and many times these intense pride of ethnic groups are based on historical stories and myths.

As we can see right now in Eastern Europe, the threats of a perceived need to protect themselves from NATO, the Russian nation has taken a preemptive defensive conflict in turn, fighting multiple Nations indirectly as a proxy war in the Ukraine.

Wars also can be based on historical animosities and grievances of past injustices, from one ethnic group to another, and now one group is taking vengeance and retribution on another ethnic group, causing either a genocide or ethnic cleansing, in turn, causing a domestic internal civil War which may cause a regional or global war, pulling other nation states into the conflict.

There are so many moving parts leading to a conflict and a broader War, usually the causes are multiple, interchangeable, and complex that fuel hate, and eventually war.