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IB DP Global Politics — Thematic study: Peace and conflict | SL | Nature, practice and study of peace and conflict
📋 What You Will Learn
- Define conflict and distinguish between different types (interstate, intrastate, non-state, asymmetric)
- Identify and explain the main categories of causes of conflict: structural, political, economic, social/cultural, and environmental
- Analyse how multiple causes interact and how the same conflict can be interpreted differently depending on the lens applied
- Apply Johan Galtung's conflict triangle (attitudes, behaviour, contradiction) as a conceptual tool
- Compare how realist, liberal, and critical theoretical perspectives explain the causes of conflict
- Evaluate the relative weight of different causes in contemporary conflicts, using specific case studies
🔍 Guiding Question Are conflicts primarily caused by the rational pursuit of power and resources, or by deeper structural inequalities, identity grievances, and failures of governance — and does the answer change who we hold responsible?
🌍 Why This Matters Since 2011, the Syrian civil war has killed over 300,000 people and displaced more than 13 million. Analysts disagree sharply on its causes: was it a popular uprising against authoritarian rule, a sectarian conflict between Sunni and Alawi communities, a proxy war between regional and global powers, or a crisis triggered by a severe drought that destroyed rural livelihoods? The answer shapes who is blamed, what solutions are proposed, and who bears responsibility — making the study of conflict causes one of the most politically consequential questions in global politics.
🔑 Key Concept Link This topic engages all four key concepts. Power is central: conflicts often arise from its unequal distribution or from competition to acquire it. Sovereignty is at stake when states fragment, when borders are contested, or when non-state actors challenge the state's monopoly on violence. Legitimacy matters because conflicts frequently erupt when people no longer accept the authority of a government or institution. Interdependence shapes conflict too: economic ties can reduce incentives for war, but resource competition and transnational grievances can also spread violence across borders.
What Is Conflict?
Before analysing causes, it is essential to be precise about what we mean by conflict — the term is used loosely in everyday language but has specific meanings in global politics. Understanding the type of conflict matters because different types tend to have different causes.
📖 Definition — Conflict In global politics, conflict refers to a state of incompatibility between two or more actors over goals, values, resources or power. It exists on a spectrum from non-violent disagreement to organised armed violence. Not all conflict is war, and not all violence is conflict in the political sense.
Types of conflict
- Interstate conflict: armed conflict between two or more sovereign states (e.g. the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war between Armenia and Azerbaijan).
- Intrastate (civil) conflict: conflict within a single state, typically between the government and one or more non-state armed groups (e.g. the Syrian civil war, the Ethiopian Tigray conflict 2020–2022).
- Non-state conflict: armed violence between non-state actors, without direct