Citizenship Toolkit

The causes of war

In History, you may have learned about long-term and short-term causes of wars. For example, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in 1914 was a short-term cause of the First World War. However, there were many underlying long-term causes of the war, including the arms race between Britain and Germany and the split of Europe into two rival camps (the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente). Historians often disagree about which causes are the most important when they study conflicts but, generally, we can recognise some of the most common causes of war throughout history. These include:

Nationalism

Fighting to get rid of a foreign ruler or wanting independence from another country.

Religion

For example, a war between Muslims and Christians.

Politics or ideas

For example, a disagreement over how a country should be run.

Ethnicity or race

For example, the Serbs fighting the Croats.

Economics, land and resources

A war to get better resources (possessions, land or wealth) for a country’s people.

Injustice

For example, overthrowing a dictator.

Revenge

For example, fighting because a country was defeated in a previous war.

A powerful individual or group desiring more power

For example, a dictator who rules by force.

Why do wars break out?

Working out who is or is not to blame for outbreaks of war is an extremely difficult task. For example, if a group of countries invade a country that is being run unfairly by a forceful dictator, it might be possible to argue that there can be such a thing as a ‘just war’. Reconciliation, which means compromise or settlement, is often difficult because the people who have been at war may be extremely resentful about the actions of their opposition and the deaths of loved ones. The need for revenge is an extremely difficult desire to control.