Post-WWII Military and Political Landscape

Territorial Terms

• The Paris Peace Conference concluded that Russia should be allowed to determine its own political future.
• Belgium must be evacuated and restored without restrictions on its sovereignty.
• French territory, including Alsace-Lorraine, should be freed and restored to its rightful place.
• Italy's borders should be adjusted based on nationality.
• The peoples of Austria-Hungary should have autonomy in their development.
• Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro should be evacuated and restored, with Serbia granted access to the sea.
• Turkish parts of the Ottoman Empire should be sovereign, with autonomy for non-Turkish nationalities and free passage through the Dardanelles.
• An independent Polish state with access to the sea should be created.

Military Terms

• National armaments should be reduced to the lowest level compatible with domestic security.
• Colonial claims should be adjusted, considering both the interests of the populations concerned and the colonial powers.
• A general association of nations should be formed to guarantee the political independence and territorial integrity of states.

Causes of War

• Total war reached its peak intensity during World War II.
• The Yalta and Potsdam Conferences are comparable to the Paris Conference.
• After World War II, states realized that war is pointless and offers no benefits.
• Total wars, which engage all resources of the state, are unlikely to yield any results.
• Warfare should be used in limited ways, due to its potential to destroy the world.
• The Cold War marked a significant shift in strategic warfare.
• Portugal, France, and the UK ended their colonial empires, relinquishing territories reluctantly.

New Wars

• New wars are characterized by their intrastate nature, focusing on resources rather than monetary transfers.
• Ethnic targeting and eradication are prominent features of new wars.
• New wars are fueled by a bottom-up approach, with warlords benefitting from prolonged conflicts.
• The circle of violence in new wars is sustained by various factors, including the lack of state control, economic considerations, and the exploitation of resources.

Greed vs. Grievance

• Greed, in the context of conflict, is driven by economic motivations, such as the control over resources and poverty.
• Grievance, on the other hand, is rooted in socio-political motives, stemming from resentment against inequality, lack of social mobility, and a sense of relative deprivation.

Warlordism

• Warlords are military entrepreneurs who wage wars for personal gains, often using propaganda to recruit followers.
• Warlords typically have an ideology and do not adhere to state structures, but can mobilize people to participate in conflicts.

Realism

• Realism is a dominant framework in international relations that emphasizes state behavior based on self-interest, power, and survival.
• Realism can be utilized to explain the causes of conflicts like World Wars I and II, as well as the Cold War's shift in warfare.

Armed Conflict

• Armed conflicts have evolved from traditional wars, where states engaged in total warfare for destruction, to contemporary conflicts with more limited objectives, often driven by greed and grievance.
• The rise of intrastate wars, new ways of fighting, and the disappearance of the traditional state are major factors in understanding contemporary armed conflicts.