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Essay on War and Its Effects

Students are often asked to write an essay on War and Its Effects in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

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100 Words Essay on War and Its Effects

Introduction.

War is a state of armed conflict between different countries or groups within a country. It’s a destructive event that causes loss of life and property.

The Devastation of War

Wars cause immense destruction. Buildings, homes, and infrastructure are often destroyed, leaving people homeless. The loss of resources makes it hard to rebuild.

The human cost of war is huge. Many people lose their lives or get injured. Families are torn apart, and children often lose their parents.

Psychological Impact

War can cause severe psychological trauma. Soldiers and civilians may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

War has devastating effects on people and societies. It’s important to promote peace and understanding to prevent wars.

250 Words Essay on War and Its Effects

War, a term that evokes immediate images of destruction and death, has been a persistent feature of human history. The consequences are multifaceted, influencing not only the immediate physical realm but also the socio-economic and psychological aspects of society.

Physical Impact

The most direct and visible impact of war is the physical destruction. Infrastructure, homes, and natural resources are often destroyed, leading to a significant decline in the quality of life. Moreover, the loss of human lives is immeasurable, creating a vacuum in societies that is hard to fill.

Socio-Economic Consequences

War also has profound socio-economic effects. Economies are crippled as resources are diverted towards war efforts, leading to inflation, unemployment, and poverty. Social structures are disrupted, with families torn apart and communities displaced.

Psychological Effects

Perhaps the most enduring impact of war is psychological. The trauma of violence and loss can have long-term effects on mental health, leading to conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder. Society at large also suffers, with the collective psyche marked by fear and mistrust.

In conclusion, war leaves an indelible mark on individuals and societies. Its effects are far-reaching and long-lasting, extending beyond the immediate physical destruction to touch every aspect of life. As we continue to study and understand these impacts, it underscores the importance of pursuing peace and conflict resolution.

500 Words Essay on War and Its Effects

War, an organized conflict between two or more groups, has been a part of human history for millennia. Its effects are profound and far-reaching, influencing political, social, and economic aspects of societies. Understanding the impact of war is crucial to comprehend the intricacies of global politics and human behavior.

The Political Impact of War

War significantly alters the political landscape of nations. It often leads to changes in leadership, shifts in power dynamics, and amendments in legal systems. For instance, World War II resulted in the downfall of fascist regimes in Germany and Italy, giving rise to democratic governments. However, war can also destabilize nations, creating power vacuums that may lead to further conflicts, as seen in the aftermath of the Iraq War.

Social Consequences of War

Societies bear the brunt of war’s destructive nature. The loss of life, displacement of people, and the psychological trauma inflicted upon populations are some of the direct social effects. Indirectly, war also affects societal structures and relationships. It can lead to changes in gender roles, as seen during World War I and II where women took on roles traditionally held by men, leading to significant shifts in gender dynamics.

Economic Ramifications of War

Economically, war can have both destructive and stimulating effects. On one hand, it leads to the destruction of infrastructure, depletion of resources, and interruption of trade. On the other, it can stimulate economic growth through increased production and technological advancements. The economic boom in the United States during and after World War II is an example of war-induced economic stimulation.

The Psychological Impact of War

War leaves a deep psychological imprint on those directly and indirectly involved. Soldiers and civilians alike suffer from conditions like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Moreover, societies as a whole can experience collective trauma, impacting future generations. The psychological scars of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings continue to affect Japanese society today.

In conclusion, war is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon with profound effects that can shape nations and societies in significant ways. Its impacts are not confined to the battlefield but reach deep into the political, social, economic, and psychological fabric of societies. Therefore, understanding its effects is not only essential for historians and political scientists but also for anyone interested in the complexities of human societies and their evolution.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

  • Essay on Kargil War
  • Essay on Disadvantages of War
  • Essay on Consequences of War

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Essay on War - A nation or organisation may turn to war to reach its goals, but what is the actual cost of progress? Countless lives have been lost to war and continue to be lost. It costs a lot of money and resources as well. Wars have always been brutal, deadly, and tragic, from the American Revolution to World Wars I and II to the Crusades and the ancient Hundred Years' War. Here are a few sample essays on "war" .

War Essay

100 Words Essay on War

The greatest destroyers of people in modern times are wars. No matter who wins a war, mankind loses in every case. Millions of people have died in battles during the past century, with World Wars I and II being the worst. Wars are typically fought to protect a nation. Whatever the motive, it is hazardous conduct that results in the loss of millions of priceless innocent lives and has dangerous impacts that even future generations will have to deal with.

The results of using nuclear bombs are catastrophic. The weapons business benefits when there is a war elsewhere in the world because it maintains its supply chain. Weapons that cause massive destruction are being made bigger and better. The only way to end wars is to raise awareness among the general public.

200 Words Essay on War

Without a doubt, war is terrible, and the most devastating thing that can happen to humans. It causes death and devastation, illness and poverty, humiliation and destruction. To evaluate the devastation caused by war, one needs to consider the havoc that was wrecked on several nations not too many years ago. A particularly frightening ability of modern wars is that they tend to become global so that they may absorb the entire world. The fact that some people view war as a great and heroic adventure that brings out the best in people does not change the fact that it is a horrible tragedy.

This is more true now that atomic weapons will be used to fight a war. War, according to some, is required. Looking at the past reveals that war has drastically changed throughout the nation's history. The destructive impacts of war have never been more prevalent in human history. We have experienced lengthy and brief wars of various kinds. There have been supporters of nonviolence and the brotherhood of man. Buddha, Christ, and Mahatma Gandhi have all lived. Despite this, war has always been fought, weapons are always used, military power has always been deployed, and there have always been armies in war.

500 Words Essay on War

If we take a closer look at human history, it will become evident that conflicts have existed ever since the primitive eras. Although efforts have been made to end it, this has not been successful so far. Thus, it appears that we are unable to achieve eternal peace. Many defend wars by claiming that nature's rules require them. Charles Darwin is placed in front of them to illustrate their point. He was the one who created the rule of the fittest. He claimed that everything in nature, whether alive or dead, is constantly engaged in a battle for survival. Only the strongest will survive in this fight. Therefore, it is believed that without battle, humankind won't be able to progress.

Impacts of War

People fail to see that war invariably results in severe damage. They ignored the nonviolent principles taught by Mahatma Gandhi, who used them to liberate his country from the shackles of slavery. They fail to consider that if Gandhi could push out the powerful Britishers without resorting to violence, why shouldn't others do the same? Wars are unavoidable calamities, and there are no words to adequately depict the vast quantity and scope of their tragedies. The atrocities of the two world wars must never be forgotten. There was tremendous murder and property devastation during the battles. There were thousands of widows and orphans. War spreads falsehoods and creates hatred. People start acting brutally selfishly. Humanity and morals suffer as a result.

War is an Enemy

War is the enemy of all humanity and human civilisation. Nothing positive can come of it. Consequently, it should never be celebrated in any way. In addition to impeding national progress, it undermines social cohesion. It slows down the rate of human progress. Wars are not the answer to the world's issues. Instead, they cause issues and generate hatred among nations. War can settle one issue but creates far too many other ones. The two most horrific examples of the war's after-effects are Hiroshima and Nagasaki. People are still enduring the effects of war 77 years later. Whatever the reason for war, it always ends in the widespread loss of human life and property.

Disadvantages of War

Massive human deaths and injuries, the depletion of financial resources, environmental degradation, lost productivity, and long-term harm to military personnel are all drawbacks of war. Families are split apart by war. Both towns and cities are destroyed by it. People become more sensitive, and every industry faces collapse. People’s health declines physically and they lose their sense of security. They won't have any security, and those who win the battle will treat the citizens of the defeated nation as their slaves and prohibit them from the right to work. After the war, there will be a lack of jobs and corruption issues for the nation to deal with.

Russia – Ukraine War

The world saw great turmoil beginning in February 2022 with the Russian-Ukraine War. Russia's invasion of Ukraine was the most serious conventional attack on a nation, bringing a severe economic crisis to the world. India has taken a neutral stance for Russia, keeping in mind the two countries' long-standing alliance, especially in its foreign policies and positive international relationships. Russia was concerned about Ukraine's security due to its intention to join NATO and invaded Ukraine in 2014. Additionally, Russia provided help to the rebels in the eastern Ukrainian districts of Donetsk and Luhansk.

The war between Russia and Ukraine has had a substantial impact on oil prices and other commodity prices, as well as increased trade uncertainty. India has economic troubles due to Western countries' supply disruptions and limited trade with Russia.

War has historically been the worst mark on humanity. Although it was made by man, it is now beyond the power of any human force. To preserve humanity, the entire human species must now reflect on this. Otherwise, neither humanity nor war will survive.

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Pathologist

A career in pathology in India is filled with several responsibilities as it is a medical branch and affects human lives. The demand for pathologists has been increasing over the past few years as people are getting more aware of different diseases. Not only that, but an increase in population and lifestyle changes have also contributed to the increase in a pathologist’s demand. The pathology careers provide an extremely huge number of opportunities and if you want to be a part of the medical field you can consider being a pathologist. If you want to know more about a career in pathology in India then continue reading this article.

Speech Therapist

Gynaecologist.

Gynaecology can be defined as the study of the female body. The job outlook for gynaecology is excellent since there is evergreen demand for one because of their responsibility of dealing with not only women’s health but also fertility and pregnancy issues. Although most women prefer to have a women obstetrician gynaecologist as their doctor, men also explore a career as a gynaecologist and there are ample amounts of male doctors in the field who are gynaecologists and aid women during delivery and childbirth. 

An oncologist is a specialised doctor responsible for providing medical care to patients diagnosed with cancer. He or she uses several therapies to control the cancer and its effect on the human body such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy and biopsy. An oncologist designs a treatment plan based on a pathology report after diagnosing the type of cancer and where it is spreading inside the body.

Audiologist

The audiologist career involves audiology professionals who are responsible to treat hearing loss and proactively preventing the relevant damage. Individuals who opt for a career as an audiologist use various testing strategies with the aim to determine if someone has a normal sensitivity to sounds or not. After the identification of hearing loss, a hearing doctor is required to determine which sections of the hearing are affected, to what extent they are affected, and where the wound causing the hearing loss is found. As soon as the hearing loss is identified, the patients are provided with recommendations for interventions and rehabilitation such as hearing aids, cochlear implants, and appropriate medical referrals. While audiology is a branch of science that studies and researches hearing, balance, and related disorders.

Dental Surgeon

A Dental Surgeon is a professional who possesses specialisation in advanced dental procedures and aesthetics. Dental surgeon duties and responsibilities may include fitting dental prosthetics such as crowns, caps, bridges, veneers, dentures and implants following apicoectomy and other surgical procedures.

For an individual who opts for a career as an actor, the primary responsibility is to completely speak to the character he or she is playing and to persuade the crowd that the character is genuine by connecting with them and bringing them into the story. This applies to significant roles and littler parts, as all roles join to make an effective creation. Here in this article, we will discuss how to become an actor in India, actor exams, actor salary in India, and actor jobs. 

Individuals who opt for a career as acrobats create and direct original routines for themselves, in addition to developing interpretations of existing routines. The work of circus acrobats can be seen in a variety of performance settings, including circus, reality shows, sports events like the Olympics, movies and commercials. Individuals who opt for a career as acrobats must be prepared to face rejections and intermittent periods of work. The creativity of acrobats may extend to other aspects of the performance. For example, acrobats in the circus may work with gym trainers, celebrities or collaborate with other professionals to enhance such performance elements as costume and or maybe at the teaching end of the career.

Video Game Designer

Career as a video game designer is filled with excitement as well as responsibilities. A video game designer is someone who is involved in the process of creating a game from day one. He or she is responsible for fulfilling duties like designing the character of the game, the several levels involved, plot, art and similar other elements. Individuals who opt for a career as a video game designer may also write the codes for the game using different programming languages.

Depending on the video game designer job description and experience they may also have to lead a team and do the early testing of the game in order to suggest changes and find loopholes.

Talent Agent

The career as a Talent Agent is filled with responsibilities. A Talent Agent is someone who is involved in the pre-production process of the film. It is a very busy job for a Talent Agent but as and when an individual gains experience and progresses in the career he or she can have people assisting him or her in work. Depending on one’s responsibilities, number of clients and experience he or she may also have to lead a team and work with juniors under him or her in a talent agency. In order to know more about the job of a talent agent continue reading the article.

If you want to know more about talent agent meaning, how to become a Talent Agent, or Talent Agent job description then continue reading this article.

Radio Jockey

Radio Jockey is an exciting, promising career and a great challenge for music lovers. If you are really interested in a career as radio jockey, then it is very important for an RJ to have an automatic, fun, and friendly personality. If you want to get a job done in this field, a strong command of the language and a good voice are always good things. Apart from this, in order to be a good radio jockey, you will also listen to good radio jockeys so that you can understand their style and later make your own by practicing.

A career as radio jockey has a lot to offer to deserving candidates. If you want to know more about a career as radio jockey, and how to become a radio jockey then continue reading the article.

Videographer

Multimedia specialist.

A multimedia specialist is a media professional who creates, audio, videos, graphic image files, computer animations for multimedia applications. He or she is responsible for planning, producing, and maintaining websites and applications. 

An individual who is pursuing a career as a producer is responsible for managing the business aspects of production. They are involved in each aspect of production from its inception to deception. Famous movie producers review the script, recommend changes and visualise the story. 

They are responsible for overseeing the finance involved in the project and distributing the film for broadcasting on various platforms. A career as a producer is quite fulfilling as well as exhaustive in terms of playing different roles in order for a production to be successful. Famous movie producers are responsible for hiring creative and technical personnel on contract basis.

Copy Writer

In a career as a copywriter, one has to consult with the client and understand the brief well. A career as a copywriter has a lot to offer to deserving candidates. Several new mediums of advertising are opening therefore making it a lucrative career choice. Students can pursue various copywriter courses such as Journalism , Advertising , Marketing Management . Here, we have discussed how to become a freelance copywriter, copywriter career path, how to become a copywriter in India, and copywriting career outlook. 

Careers in journalism are filled with excitement as well as responsibilities. One cannot afford to miss out on the details. As it is the small details that provide insights into a story. Depending on those insights a journalist goes about writing a news article. A journalism career can be stressful at times but if you are someone who is passionate about it then it is the right choice for you. If you want to know more about the media field and journalist career then continue reading this article.

For publishing books, newspapers, magazines and digital material, editorial and commercial strategies are set by publishers. Individuals in publishing career paths make choices about the markets their businesses will reach and the type of content that their audience will be served. Individuals in book publisher careers collaborate with editorial staff, designers, authors, and freelance contributors who develop and manage the creation of content.

In a career as a vlogger, one generally works for himself or herself. However, once an individual has gained viewership there are several brands and companies that approach them for paid collaboration. It is one of those fields where an individual can earn well while following his or her passion. 

Ever since internet costs got reduced the viewership for these types of content has increased on a large scale. Therefore, a career as a vlogger has a lot to offer. If you want to know more about the Vlogger eligibility, roles and responsibilities then continue reading the article. 

Individuals in the editor career path is an unsung hero of the news industry who polishes the language of the news stories provided by stringers, reporters, copywriters and content writers and also news agencies. Individuals who opt for a career as an editor make it more persuasive, concise and clear for readers. In this article, we will discuss the details of the editor's career path such as how to become an editor in India, editor salary in India and editor skills and qualities.

Advertising Manager

Advertising managers consult with the financial department to plan a marketing strategy schedule and cost estimates. We often see advertisements that attract us a lot, not every advertisement is just to promote a business but some of them provide a social message as well. There was an advertisement for a washing machine brand that implies a story that even a man can do household activities. And of course, how could we even forget those jingles which we often sing while working?

Photographer

Photography is considered both a science and an art, an artistic means of expression in which the camera replaces the pen. In a career as a photographer, an individual is hired to capture the moments of public and private events, such as press conferences or weddings, or may also work inside a studio, where people go to get their picture clicked. Photography is divided into many streams each generating numerous career opportunities in photography. With the boom in advertising, media, and the fashion industry, photography has emerged as a lucrative and thrilling career option for many Indian youths.

Social Media Manager

A career as social media manager involves implementing the company’s or brand’s marketing plan across all social media channels. Social media managers help in building or improving a brand’s or a company’s website traffic, build brand awareness, create and implement marketing and brand strategy. Social media managers are key to important social communication as well.

Quality Controller

A quality controller plays a crucial role in an organisation. He or she is responsible for performing quality checks on manufactured products. He or she identifies the defects in a product and rejects the product. 

A quality controller records detailed information about products with defects and sends it to the supervisor or plant manager to take necessary actions to improve the production process.

Production Manager

A Team Leader is a professional responsible for guiding, monitoring and leading the entire group. He or she is responsible for motivating team members by providing a pleasant work environment to them and inspiring positive communication. A Team Leader contributes to the achievement of the organisation’s goals. He or she improves the confidence, product knowledge and communication skills of the team members and empowers them.

Procurement Manager

The procurement Manager is also known as  Purchasing Manager. The role of the Procurement Manager is to source products and services for a company. A Procurement Manager is involved in developing a purchasing strategy, including the company's budget and the supplies as well as the vendors who can provide goods and services to the company. His or her ultimate goal is to bring the right products or services at the right time with cost-effectiveness. 

Merchandiser

A career as a merchandiser requires one to promote specific products and services of one or different brands, to increase the in-house sales of the store. Merchandising job focuses on enticing the customers to enter the store and hence increasing their chances of buying a product. Although the buyer is the one who selects the lines, it all depends on the merchandiser on how much money a buyer will spend, how many lines will be purchased, and what will be the quantity of those lines. In a career as merchandiser, one is required to closely work with the display staff in order to decide in what way a product would be displayed so that sales can be maximised. In small brands or local retail stores, a merchandiser is responsible for both merchandising and buying. 

AWS Solution Architect

An AWS Solution Architect is someone who specializes in developing and implementing cloud computing systems. He or she has a good understanding of the various aspects of cloud computing and can confidently deploy and manage their systems. He or she troubleshoots the issues and evaluates the risk from the third party. 

Azure Administrator

An Azure Administrator is a professional responsible for implementing, monitoring, and maintaining Azure Solutions. He or she manages cloud infrastructure service instances and various cloud servers as well as sets up public and private cloud systems. 

Information Security Manager

Individuals in the information security manager career path involves in overseeing and controlling all aspects of computer security. The IT security manager job description includes planning and carrying out security measures to protect the business data and information from corruption, theft, unauthorised access, and deliberate attack 

Computer Programmer

Careers in computer programming primarily refer to the systematic act of writing code and moreover include wider computer science areas. The word 'programmer' or 'coder' has entered into practice with the growing number of newly self-taught tech enthusiasts. Computer programming careers involve the use of designs created by software developers and engineers and transforming them into commands that can be implemented by computers. These commands result in regular usage of social media sites, word-processing applications and browsers.

ITSM Manager

.net developer.

.NET Developer Job Description: A .NET Developer is a professional responsible for producing code using .NET languages. He or she is a software developer who uses the .NET technologies platform to create various applications. Dot NET Developer job comes with the responsibility of  creating, designing and developing applications using .NET languages such as VB and C#. 

Applications for Admissions are open.

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Impact of War on Society Essay | War and its Effects

The present generation read about fights and wars in stories and books only but with the proclamation of the Russia and Ukraine war, the impact of war on the modern world is clearly visible to all of us. War has always left the world with death and destruction. Let’s write down an essay on war and its effects on people and countries.

Why you should read this essay –

The world knows about The Russia-Ukraine War. Are you ready for war? Hold on…hold on…don’t take me literally. You might not be aware that the Writing Section in your language paper is guided by current affairs. Last year our newspapers were flooded with the news of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine and now it is Israel vs Hamas War. So, you have to have knowledge of Essays and Paragraphs on War and learn new words associated with war, weapons and soldiers. Let’s start reading… Hoping the war stops soon! 

war and its effects essay

Impact of War on the Modern World

Outline for an Essay on War

  • History of wars
  • thoughts associated with wars
  • Negative effects of war
  • Why do countries resort to wars
  • any recent example
  • Conclusion – how to avoid wars
“Peace is the virtue of civilization. War is its crime.” -Victor Hugo.

War is a war, it cannot be stated ‘correct’ under any given circumstance. The world had been through two world wars, enough for humanity to learn its lessons. But it seems that the world would rather be a fool and repeat it. Man’s insatiable hunger for power, unquenchable thirst for money and unsatisfiable greed to acquire has resulted in a world of dominance, mistrust, lack of faith, selfishness, self-centeredness and intolerance effectuating conflict and war. Who gains from war? A clamant question not figured out yet.

Jonathan Maberry’s words express the real impact of war, “They won the war but lost the peace”. 

Essay on Effects of War Class 6 -12 (500 words)

War leaves unrest among people, both on the winning and losing sides. The victims are not only those who die in the war but also those who survive. The aftermath of war is so horrendous that many have to live with disabilities, not only physical but emotional, mental and even social.

The use of precision weapons, nuclear and chemical weapons in war causes destruction on a large scale, having long-term effects. The everyday agony of dealing with personal loss aggravates with the economic crisis a country has to cope with. The modern world is not an isolated place, it is a global village, thanks to technology. In the present times, the effects of war are not restricted to a particular country but have a far-reaching impact on the whole world. 

Citing preparedness and uncertainty as reasons, nations tend to allocate a large chunk of money to the army and for the development of war weapons. As a consequence, the country suffers on the front of health and education. It may not be a cause of concern for a developed country but once caught in this vicious circle, the economy of a developing nation deteriorates further impacting every aspect of modern life. 

To deal with such a crisis, many rights of the citizens are taken away and taxes are imposed furthering uproar and uprising. After a war, it takes years for a country to recover and who can guarantee no another? The recent Russia-Ukraine war has taken a toll on the whole world. All countries are suffering from the brunt directly or indirectly.

On one hand when the whole world is fighting a war against climate change, increasing population and pandemics like COVID-19, these political wars or wars of revenge or subjugation, whatever you may call them, seem too extraneous. A misstep of one can result in a disaster for the whole world. Then, why not take responsibility and address the problem of global warming, overuse of resources, overpopulation, poverty etc? 

The modern world needs to achieve the ‘exotic moment’ recommended by Pablo Neruda in his poem ‘Keeping quiet’-

  ‘and we will all keep still’.

During this stillness, as suggested by him, the world will better itself by introspection. 

“It’s time for us to turn to each other, not on each other.”

– Jesse Jackson.

Online Gaming Essay | Advantages and Disadvantages How to Reduce Global Warming Essay on life after lockdown in India Women Empowerment Essay Essay on Effects of Population on Environment Essay on Why is Education Important

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  • World Psychiatry
  • v.5(1); 2006 Feb

Mental health consequences of war: a brief review of research findings

R. srinivasa murthy.

1 Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, World Health Organization, Post Box 7608, Abdul Razak Al Sanhouri Street, Naser City, Cairo 11371, Egypt

RASHMI LAKSHMINARAYANA

2 London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK

Among the consequences of war, the impact on the mental health of the civilian population is one of the most significant. Studies of the general population show a definite increase in the incidence and prevalence of mental disorders. Women are more affected than men. Other vulnerable groups are children, the elderly and the disabled. Prevalence rates are associated with the degree of trauma, and the availability of physical and emotional support. The use of cultural and religious coping strategies is frequent in developing countries.

The year 2005 is significant in understanding the relationship between war and mental health. This is the 30th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam war and of the start of the war in Lebanon. Every day the media bring the horrors of the ongoing "war" situation in Iraq. Some recent quotations from the media depict the impact of war on mental health: "We are living in a state of constant fear" (in Iraq); "War takes a toll on Iraqi mental health"; "War trauma leaves physical mark"; "War is hell... it has an impact on the people who take part that never heals"; "War is terrible and beyond the understanding and experience of most people"; "A generation has grown up knowing only war".

Wars have had an important part in psychiatric history in a number of ways. It was the psychological impact of the world wars in the form of shell shock that supported the effectiveness of psychological interventions during the first half of the 20th century. It was the recognition of a proportion of the population not suitable for army recruitment during the Second World War that spurred the setting up of the National Institute of Mental Health in USA. The differences in the presentation of the psychological symptoms among the officers and the soldiers opened up new ways of understanding the psychiatric reactions to stress.

During the last year, a large number of books and documents have addressed the effects of war on mental health. They include the WPA book "Disasters and mental health" ( 1 ); the World Bank report "Mental health and conflicts - Conceptual framework and approaches" ( 2 ); the United Nations (UN) book "Trauma interventions in war and peace: prevention, practice and policy" ( 3 ); the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) document "The state of the world's children - Childhood under threat" ( 4 ); the book "Trauma and the role of mental health in postconflict recovery" ( 5 ) and a chapter on "War and mental health in Africa" in the WPA book "Essentials of clinical psychiatry for sub-Saharan Africa" ( 6 ).

Though there have not been any world wars since the Second World War, there have been wars and conflicts throughout the last 60 years. For example, in the 22 countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region of the World Health Organization (WHO), over 80% of the population either is in a conflict situation or has experienced such a situation in the last quarter of century ( 7 ).

War has a catastrophic effect on the health and well being of nations. Studies have shown that conflict situations cause more mortality and disability than any major disease. War destroys communities and families and often disrupts the development of the social and economic fabric of nations. The effects of war include long-term physical and psychological harm to children and adults, as well as reduction in material and human capital. Death as a result of wars is simply the "tip of the iceberg". Other consequences, besides death, are not well documented. They include endemic poverty, malnutrition, disability, economic/ social decline and psychosocial illness, to mention only a few. Only through a greater understanding of conflicts and the myriad of mental health problems that arise from them, coherent and effective strategies for dealing with such problems can be developed.

The importance that the WHO attributes to dealing with the psychological traumas of war was highlighted by the resolution of the World Health Assembly in May 2005, which urged member states "to strengthen action to protect children from and in armed conflict" and the resolution of the WHO Executive Board in January 2005, which urged "support for implementation of programmes to repair the psychological damage of war, conflict and natural disasters" ( 8 ).

The WHO estimated that, in the situations of armed conflicts throughout the world, "10% of the people who experience traumatic events will have serious mental health problems and another 10% will develop behavior that will hinder their ability to function effectively. The most common conditions are depression, anxiety and psychosomatic problems such as insomnia, or back and stomach aches" ( 9 ).

This paper briefly reviews the evidence from published literature about the impact of war on the mental health of the general population, the refugees, the soldiers and specific vulnerable groups. For the purpose of this paper, the term "war" is used to include both wars waged between countries (e.g., the Iraq-Kuwait war) and conflicts within countries (e.g., Sri Lanka). The review presents data concerning some major wars/conflicts (the countries involved are considered in alphabetic order) and then briefly outlines the risk factors emerging from the literature.

IMPACT OF WAR ON MENTAL HEALTH

Afghanistan.

More than two decades of conflict have led to widespread human suffering and population displacement in Afghanistan. Two studies from this country are significant in terms of both their scope and their findings.

The first study ( 10 ) used a national multistage, cluster, population based survey including 799 adult household members aged 15 years and above. Sixty-two percent of respondents reported experiencing at least four trauma events during the previous ten years. Symptoms of depression were found in 67.7% of respondents, symptoms of anxiety in 72.2%, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in 42%. The disabled and women had a poorer mental health status, and there was a significant relationship between the mental health status and traumatic events. Coping strategies included religious and spiritual practices.

The second study ( 11 ), using a crosssectional multicluster sample, was conducted in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan, to estimate the prevalence of psychiatric symptoms, identify resources used for emotional support and risk factors, and assess the present coverage of basic needs. About 1011 respondents aged 15 years and above formed the sample. Nearly half of the population had experienced traumatic events. Symptoms of depression were observed in 38.5% of respondents, symptoms of anxiety in 51.8% and PTSD in 20.4%. High rates of symptoms were associated with higher numbers of traumatic events experienced. Women had higher rates than men. The main sources of emotional support were religion and family.

The Balkans

The conflict in the Balkans is probably one of the most widely studied ( 12 - 14 ) in recent years. Mental health of survivors of both sides was examined ( 15 ).

An initial study ( 16 ) among Bosnian refugees demonstrated an association between psychiatric disorders (depression and PTSD) and disability. A threeyear follow-up study on the same group concluded that former Bosnian refugees who remained living in the region continued to exhibit psychiatric disorders and disability after initial assessment ( 17 ).

A cross-sectional cluster sample survey among Kosovar Albanians aged 15 years or older found that 17.1% (95% CI 13.2%-21.0%) reported symptoms of PTSD ( 18 ). There was a significant linear decrease in mental health status and social functioning with increasing amount of traumatic events in those aged 65 years or older, and with previous psychiatric illnesses or chronic health conditions. Internally displaced people were at increased risk of psychiatric morbidity. Men (89%) and women (90%) expressed strong feelings of hatred towards the Serbs, with 44% of men and 33% of women stating that they would act on these feelings.

In a study of the mental health and nutritional status among the Serbian ethnic minority in Kosovo, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ)-28 scores in the subcategories of social dysfunction and severe depression were high, with women and those living alone or in small family units being more prone to psychiatric morbidity ( 19 ). In a community sample of 2,796 children aged between 9 and 14 years, high levels of post-traumatic symptoms and grief symptoms were reported ( 20 ). This was related to the amount and type of exposure. Girls reported more distress than boys.

Cambodia has had a long history of violence, highlighted by the civil war in the 1960s, culminating with the "Khmer Rouge" rule that destroyed the social fabric of the society. Studies have found that refugees had high levels of psychiatric symptomatology after 10 years ( 21 ).

A household survey of 993 adults from Site 2, the largest Cambodian displaced- persons camp on the Thailand- Cambodia border, found that more than 80% felt depressed and had a number of somatic complaints despite good access to medical services ( 22 ). Approximately 55% and 15% had symptom scores that correlated with Western criteria for depression and PTSD, respectively. However, despite high reported levels of trauma and symptoms, social and work functioning were well preserved in the majority of respondents. Cumulative trauma continued to affect psychiatric symptom levels a decade after the original trauma events ( 23 ). This study also reported that there was support for the diagnostic validity of PTSD criteria, with the notable exception of avoidance. The inclusion of dissociative symptoms increased the cultural sensitivity of PTSD. Psychiatric history and current physical illness were found to be risk factors for PTSD ( 24 ).

Changes in the structure of the society have led to a breakdown of the existing protective networks such as the village chief and the elders in the village, especially for women ( 25 ). Traditional healers (monks, mediums, traditional birth attendants), who played an important role in maintaining the mental health of communities in the past, have lost their designated positions in the community following the conflict ( 26 ).

Twenty-seven Cambodian young people, who were severely traumatized at ages 8 to 12, were followed up 3 years after a baseline evaluation. A structured interview and self-rating scales showed that PTSD was still highly prevalent (48%) and that depression was present in 41% ( 27 ).

The human rights abuses in the Chechen population have been well documented ( 28 ). A report on a small number of Chechen asylum seekers in the UK adds to the evidence on the abuses and related psychological fallouts ( 29 ). Psychosocial issues were explored in a survey conducted in settlements housing displaced people (n=256) ( 30 , 31 ). Two thirds of respondents agreed with the statement that the conflict has triggered mental disturbance or feelings of being upset. Nearly all respondents indicated that they had family members having difficulty in coping with their disturbance or upset feelings. Coping strategies used were praying, talking, keeping busy, and seeking the support of family members.

Iraq has been at war at numerous times in history: a series of coups in the 1960s, the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988), the anti-Kurdish Al-Anfal campaign within the country (1986-1989), the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait resulting in the Gulf war (1991), and the conflict starting in 2003. The UN-imposed economic sanctions following the Gulf war have had a profound impact on the health of Iraqis. The human rights abuses have also been recorded ( 32 ).

There are few studies on the impact of these conflicts on mental health. A study on 45 Kurdish families in two camps reported that PTSD was present in 87% of children and 60% of their caregivers ( 33 ). A study on 84 Iraqi male refugees found that poor social support was a stronger predictor of depressive morbidity than trauma factors ( 34 ). During the last three years of occupation by foreign forces, there have been many news reports about the mental health of the population, but no systematic study.

Israel has been in a situation of conflict for over four decades. A large number of systematic studies have been undertaken in different population groups. A recent study ( 35 ) found that 76.7% of subjects exposed to war-related trauma had at least one traumatic stress-related symptom, while 9.4% met the criteria for acute stress disorder. The most common coping mechanisms were active information search about loved ones and social support. Another study ( 36 ) reported that, twenty years after the war with Lebanon, an initial combat stress reaction, PTSD-related chronic diseases and physical symptoms were associated with a greater engagement in risk behaviours.

Lebanon has been ravaged by a civil war (1975-1990) and by an Israeli invasion in 1978 and 1982. The mental health impact of these conflicts has been studied extensively.

A random sample of 658 people aged between 18 and 65 years was randomly selected from four Lebanese communities exposed to war ( 37 ). The lifetime prevalence of DSM-III-R major depression varied across the communities from 16.3% to 41.9%. Exposure to war and a prior history of major depression were the main predictors for current depression.

The correlation between mother's distress and child's mental health was explored in a study in Beirut ( 38 ). The level of perceived negative impact of war-related events was found to be strongly associated with higher levels of depressive symptomatology among mothers. The level of depressive symptomatology in the mother was found to be the best predictor of her child's reported morbidity. In a study carried out in 224 Lebanese children (10-16 years), the number of traumatic experiences related to war was positively correlated to PTSD symptoms, with various types of war traumas being differentially related to the symptoms ( 39 ).

A cross-sectional study conducted among 118 Lebanese hostages of war ( 40 ) found that psychological distress was present in 42.1% of the sample compared to 27.8% among the control group. Significant predictors for distress were years of education and increase in religiosity after release.

During the last decade a large number of studies have reported high levels of psychosocial problems among children and adolescents, women, refugees and prisoners in Palestine.

A study conducted by the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme among children aged 10-19 years ( 41 ) revealed that 32.7% suffered from PTSD symptoms requiring psychological intervention, 49.2% from moderate PTSD symptoms, 15.6% from mild PTSD symptoms, and only 2.5% had no symptoms. Boys had higher rates (58%) than girls (42%), and children living in camps suffered more than children living in towns (84.1% and 15.8% respectively).

A study on Palestinian perceptions of their living conditions during the Second Intifada ( 42 ) found that 46% of parents reported aggressive behaviour among their children, 38% noted bad school results, 27% reported bed wetting, while 39% stated that their children suffered from nightmares. The study also revealed that more refugee (53%) than non-refugee (41%) children behaved aggressively. Thirty-eight percent of the respondents said that shooting was the main influence, 34% stated that it was violence on TV, 7% cited confinement at home and 11% reported that it was the arrest and beating of relatives and neighbours. Seventy percent of refugees and non-refugees stated that they had not received any psychological support for the problems of their children.

In a series of studies during the last 10 years from the Gaza Community Mental Health Centre ( 43 ), the most prevalent types of trauma exposure for children were witnessing funerals (95%), witness to shooting (83%), seeing injured or dead strangers (67%) and family member injured or killed (62%). Among children living in the area of bombardments, 54% suffered from severe, 33.5% from moderate and 11% from mild or doubtful levels of PTSD. Girls were more vulnerable.

The physical and mental health problems of the survivors of the genocide in Rwanda have been well documented ( 44 ). In a recent community based study examining 2091 subjects ( 45 ), 24.8% met symptom criteria for PTSD, with the adjusted odds ratio of meeting PTSD symptom criteria for each additional traumatic event being 1.43. Respondents who met PTSD criteria were less likely to have positive attitudes towards the Rwandan national trials, suggesting that the effects of trauma need to be considered if reconciliation has to be successful. There have been reports on the state of health among the large numbers of refugees (500,000-800,000 in five days) who fled to Goma, Zaire following the capture of the capital Kigali, but none of them has considered the mental health dimension.

The conflict between the majority Sinhala and minority Tamil population in Sri Lanka has been ongoing for nearly 30 years. One of the first studies that looked into the psychological effects of the conflict on the civilian population was an epidemiological survey ( 46 ), which reported that only 6% of the study population had not experienced any war stresses. Psychosocial sequelae were seen in 64% of the population, including somatization (41%), PTSD (27%), anxiety disorder (26%), major depression (25%), alcohol and drug misuse (15%), and functional disability (18%). The breakdown of the Tamil society led to women taking on more responsibilities, which in turn made them more vulnerable to stress ( 47 ). Children and adolescents had higher mental health morbidity ( 48 ).

A study carried out in ex-combatants in Somalia found high psychiatric morbidity and use of khat ( 49 ). A UNICEF study found evidence of psychological effects of the prolonged conflict situation in a high proportion of a sample of 10,000 children ( 50 ). There is near total disruption of the mental health services in the country.

Sudanese refugees fled into northern Uganda in two major waves in 1988 and 1994. Symptoms of PTSD and depression were found to be highly prevalent among Sudanese children living in the refugee camps ( 51 ). Refugees had higher rates of individual psychopathology than the general population, and it was observed that the cumulative stress grew as the years in exile progressed. The consequences of long-term exile were still present 5-15 years later, with an increase in the rates of suicide and alcohol use.

RISK FACTORS

From the large amount of studies reviewed, some broad risk factors and associations can be drawn.

Women have an increased vulnerability to the psychological consequences of war. There is evidence of a high correlation between mothers' and children's distress in a war situation. It is now known that maternal depression in the prenatal and postnatal period predicts poorer growth in a communitybased sample of infants. Social support and traditional birth attendants have a major role in promoting maternal psychosocial well being in war-affected regions. The association between gender- based violence and common mental disorders is well known. Despite their vulnerability, women's resilience under stress and its role in sustaining their families has been recognized.

There is consistent evidence of higher rates of trauma-related psychological problems in children. The most impressive reports are those from Palestine. Of the different age groups, the most vulnerable are the adolescents.

The direct correlation between the degree of trauma and the amount of the psychological problems is consistent across a number of studies. The greater the exposure to trauma - both physical and psychological - the more pronounced are the symptoms.

Subsequent life events and their association with the occurrence of psychiatric problems have important implications for fast and complete rehabilitation as a way of minimizing the ill effects of the conflict situations.

Studies are consistent in showing the value of both physical support and psychological support in minimizing the effects of war-related traumas, as well as the role of religion and cultural practices as ways of coping with the conflict situations.

CONCLUSIONS

The occurrence of a wide variety of psychological symptoms and syndromes in the populations in conflict situations is widely documented by available research. However, research also provides evidence about the resilience of more than half of the population in the face of the worst trauma in war situations. There is no doubt that the populations in war and conflict situations should receive mental health care as part of the total relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction processes. As happened in the first half of the 20th century, when war gave a big push to the developing concepts of mental health, the study of the psychological consequences of the wars of the current century could add new understandings and solutions to mental health problems of general populations.

A number of issues have emerged from the extensive literature on the prevalence and pattern of mental health effects of war and conflict situations. Are the psychological effects and their manifestation universal? What should be the definition of a case requiring intervention? How should psychological effects be measured? What is the long-term course of stress-related symptoms and syndromes? ( 52 ). All these issues need to be addressed by future studies.

It is important to report that the WHO and some other UN-related bodies have recently created a task force to develop "mental health and psychosocial support in emergency settings" ( 53 - 55 ), which is expected to complete its activity in one year.

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The Oxford Handbook of War

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conclusions:The Unpredictability of War and Its Consequences

Professor Julian Lindley-French is Eisenhower Professor of Defence Strategy, Netherlands Defence Academy, and Associate Fellow, Chatham House.

Professor Yves Boyer, is Professor, Ecole polytechnique, Paris, and Deputy Director, Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS), Paris.

  • Published: 18 September 2012
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War is unpredictable, as are its consequences. However, it is the job of militaries to prepare for and if necessary fight and win future wars, whatever the uncertainties. Equally, the very fact that war and its consequences are unpredictable remains one of the few great constants in international relations. Therefore, history suggests that the armed forces of the great liberal democracies, whilst of course aware of the political and strategic context of their mission and the societies they serve, must ultimately be permitted to focus on one uncompromising but critical requirement — to win. Furthermore, because armed forces are, have always been, and will likely always be the last resort of the state and its possible recourse to violence as a tool of policy, it is also critical that the very nature of unpredictability and the dangers it portends are at least understood by those who lead and those who command. Unpredictability has of course many dimensions but essentially there are two upon which leaders and commanders must focus and which must drive the act of war in state policy: when war will take place and what form it will take.

Introduction

War is unpredictable, as are its consequences. However, it is the job of militaries to prepare for and if necessary fight and win future wars, whatever the uncertainties. Equally, the very fact that war and its consequences are unpredictable remains one of the few great constants in international relations. Therefore, history suggests that the armed forces of the great liberal democracies, whilst of course aware of the political and strategic context of their mission and the societies they serve, must ultimately be permitted to focus on one uncompromising but critical requirement—to win.

Furthermore, because armed forces are, have always been, and will likely always be the last resort of the state and its possible recourse to violence as a tool of policy, it is also critical that the very nature of unpredictability and the dangers it portends are at least understood by those who lead and those who command. Unpredictability has of course many dimensions but essentially there are two upon which leaders and commanders must focus and which must drive the act of war in state policy: when war will take place and what form it will take.

The Unpredictability of War

For all the moderating influence of international institutions the world of the twenty-first century would be recognizable to a seventeenth-century thinker such as Thomas Hobbes. In spite of globalization, the international community, such as it exists, remains essentially anarchic, comprised of strong states, weak states, sub-state and trans-state actors. Whilst the concept of the nation-state did not formally emerge until after the Thirty Years War of 1618–48, Hobbes would have understood that today's actors exist in a ‘state of nature’, calculating each other's interests, pursuing their own interests, and assessing daily where progress might be contemplated and where failure and defeat might be suffered.

Naturally, the political, diplomatic, and bureaucratic practices of over three centuries have created conventions and norms for state behaviour such that in regions such as Europe and North America conventional war is today unthinkable. However, it has only been unthinkable these twenty years past and for much of the rest of the world, for which growth, decline, and instability are daily challenges, no such comforting assumptions can be made. Indeed, in spite of efforts to paint the contemporary world as ‘post-modern’, i.e. one in which the state and its interactions are a thing of the past, it is surprising how resilient the state as a focal point for identity has proven. If they were really as weak a concept as some would have it then the struggle for leadership evidenced across the Middle East and beyond would not generate the mixture of hope and fear that concerns Israel and much of Europe.

Wars will happen. And it is likely that most of those wars for the foreseeable future will enjoy the prefix ‘limited’. However, whilst one should not be too dictated to by the lessons of history (one can be doomed to repeat history as much by over-reliance as ignorance), this century is shaping up to be more like the late nineteenth than the twentieth, certainly in terms of the shape of the international system, its relatively instable multipolarity, and the unexpectedly rapid shift of the distribution of power amongst states. No longer can unequivocal world leadership be said to reside in the hands of a few Western capitals. For example, in February 2011 China overtook Japan to become the world's second largest economy and could surpass that of the United States within twenty years or so. Clearly, these events, pushed as they are by the tide of globalization, will by their very nature impact on geopolitics and strategy.

The comforting assumption of many Western states as recently as a decade ago that the task of grand strategy was to make the world better by transforming it in some way in their image has changed in the post-9/11 world with remarkable and frightening speed. If nothing else, Al Qaeda and the thus-far failed attempts of the West to deal with Islamism, far from demonstrating hegemonic dominance, have rather demonstrated the West's inability to shape the global polis . This has certainly encouraged the more extreme autocracies, such as Iran and North Korea, to seek ‘security’ through the means of catastrophic war, but it has also suggested to emerging powers that neither reliance upon nor opposition to American leadership will provide the assured consequences—both positive and negative—many once assumed.

Furthermore, with many states no longer compelled by or with a compelling belief in Western liberal democracy, the return of autocracies means that the very concept of legitimacy is changing. Democracies are of course legitimized by the ability of the people to replace under-performing leaderships, whilst in today's sophisticated autocracies and oligarchies it is economic growth that provides ‘legitimacy’. Taken together with the precipitous retreat from power and status of many Western states in the wake of the systemic financial crisis, it is likely that the world is entering into a period of hyper-competition leavened by the weakening of state identities driven by globalization.

It is comfortingly current to suggest that at least such competition is no longer about the nature and governance of the international system itself. The ideological confrontation between Soviet Russia and liberal America is, one is told, a thing of the past. However, in this globalized world the self-evident preparations for war that arms procurement reveals suggest a world breaking down into identifiable blocs, far less strident but not dissimilar to those prior to the First World War. This is reinforced by the very nature of the systemic struggle between the state and the anti-state which has its epicentre in the Middle East, in which the opponents have very different Weltanschauungen , based on diverse philosophical and religious values, further increasing the already enormous unpredictability of war.

The bottom-line is this: what might appear as a relatively stable international system is also beginning to show signs of a potentially rapid descent into instability as nationalism, energy competition, burgeoning and spreading advanced military technology, and state instability suggest that systemic war, whilst unlikely, could well happen far more quickly than many have hitherto thought. Today the possibility of a war between peoples must begin to be seriously considered, not just war amongst the people.

Unpredictability in the Nature and Expression of War

The new systemic uncertainty and the unpredictability of war are compounded by unpredictability in the very nature of war. If the consequences of political, social, and economic dynamics are uncertain, so is the consequence of rapidly developing technology, particularly military technology.

Technology has substantially modified the way wars occur, the way they are launched and fought, not least because the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is rapidly reducing the options and ability of great powers to confront middling and smaller powers. Indeed, with potential and/or real access to nuclear weapons the possibility of strategic equalization through technology has not been lost on the likes of Tehran and Pyongyang, even though they both may have exaggerated the extent of American weakness, given the nature of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, the simple fact remains that in the business of war the technology factor and its capacity to drive rapid change in the correlation of opposing forces and resources is a massive factor in the emerging concepts and doctrines of modern warfare. As with all the great technological breakthroughs intended to end war for all time, in fact technology adds an additional layer of complexity in what is already a hideously complex set of political, military, and technological considerations.

Has technology made war more or less likely? Whilst during the Cold War the answer was hopefully the latter today it is not all clear, with many new actors gaining access to weapons technology they could only have dreamed of in the not so distant past. And yet, America's advanced technology, whilst useful, has often proved decidedly ineffective against insurgents in Afghanistan often armed with little more than the ubiquitous Kalashnikov. What can be said with some certainty is that today a new unpredictability parameter has been introduced into the complex equation on war that could compel as much as deter war and which only serves to thicken the fog of war through which Clausewitz so famously peered in 1832.

The unpredictability of war and in the nature of war is further reinforced by unpredictability in the very expression of war. The combination of high-tech means and capabilities and processes, reinforced and strengthened by ‘cultural-historical’ components, makes it very difficult indeed to predict what form future war will take or indeed how it will be expressed. The possible strategic, geographical, military, technical, not to say social permutations and combinations are almost beyond imagination, particularly for those charged with defending open societies in which societal resilience is low and for which the balance between protection and power projection may be being steadily eroded by a mixture of political myopia and financial distress. War could at one and the same time be global, regional, and/or local, flaring and dying down rapidly. It could involve high-tech forces in long, low-intensity struggles or low-tech forces in sudden technology-rich attacks. It could take place simultaneously within state borders and between states and in time it could be both conventional and nuclear. It is hardly reassuring.

Coping with Unpredictability

The unpredictability of war, with the many strategy and policy uncertainties it engenders, is itself a reflection of the blurred distinction between risk and threat. Such blurring makes it very hard for policy-makers to agree a main effort or indeed shape for future armed forces. It is a dilemma further compounded by the merging of military and criminal threat through the great strategic multiplier that is cyberspace.

The twinning of unpredictability with uncertainty explains much of the effort in the West to establish new classifications of war and its many forms—classical war versus atomic war; high-intensity war versus hybrid war; asymmetric war versus humanitarian interventionism—and the role of armed forces therein, etc. In the end such efforts may prove to be, in large part, both circumstantial and peripheral. Indeed, they could essentially miss the point if they drive leaders to recognize only as much threat as they can afford.

The rationale of such efforts on the face of it appears relatively sound: providing political and military leaderships with immediate political, military, industrial, and bureaucratic tools for critical decision-making processes. This, after all, was the appar ent motivation behind, for example, the 2008 French Livre Blanc, the 2010 US National Security Strategy (NSS) and Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), and the UK's 2010 National Security Strategy (UKNSS) and Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR). In fact much of the strategic ‘consideration’ and the bureaucratic process they entailed were driven almost exclusively by short-term budgetary necessities. Consequently, much of the ‘strategy’ was in fact the politically correct, financial flavour of the month. Consequently, such reviews can all too easily contribute to false security offering elusive ‘certainties’ and reassurance to hard-pressed leaders confronted with the many unknowns of the current age and increasingly uncertain and insecure publics. Sadly, as has been all too often demonstrated in the past, when real certainty comes knocking the pretence is revealed for what it is and disaster ensues.

What can also be said with some certainty is that the unpredictability of war does not and must not cloud or erase past assumptions about war and how wars should be fought. Sun Tzu and Clausewitz remain essentially correct—if one is going to fight a war, fight it to win and to win it quickly. This basic constant in the teaching of war has as direct a consequence for today's military as it did for ancient China or post-Napoleonic Europe.

Armed forces should concentrate on training and preparing for successful military operations. Hard though it is for political leaders, the more armed forces concentrate on this core mission ( ils s’instruisent pour vaincre ) the more they should be protected and left unaffected by the excess and contingent stakes of political and bureaucratic debates about defence. The failure of past strategic reviews and their findings are examples of what happens when armed forces are forced to take a position in such a debate. Why? War has its own undeniable and dangerous logic. When the cards are on the table, at the point of contact with danger, history is all too eloquent in showing that by then it is too late to remedy past errors. It is therefore precisely (if admittedly naively) that the central argument herein is that the unpredictable character of war must demand a rigorous separation of the military from the many ‘ancillary’ contingencies that any budget-led process necessarily creates. This is not to argue that armed forces should be immune from economic and financial realities but that first and foremost defence reviews should be strategy-led, not budget-led.

This distinction between the strategic and the budgetary is of course easier for autocratic, undemocratic societies to realize, at least over the short to medium term. In democratic countries it is possible to achieve such distinction only if innovative means of planning and budgeting are sought over the longer term. Such an approach avoids the shaping of core military competencies by immediate and more conjectural imperatives. Such a dramatic reappraisal of roles and costs could be achieved quite quickly, contrary to the apparent inclination of many Western states today. If armed forces must do everything, everywhere, all the time, they very rapidly cease to be armed forces.

In a period of scarce financial resources and growing disinterest about military affairs amongst large sections of society, the military itself may be advised to focus on its core competence. At the strategic level, military leaders must of course reach out to the politi cal and civil society. Moreover, civil-military relations will require new forms of contact. However, armed forces are not armed social workers and soldiers are not policemen, and the proliferation of tasks and roles evident in the recent past is in danger of producing people who are poor social workers, poor policemen, and poor soldiers. At the very least the officer corps in particular needs to refocus on their professional art, which is to fight and win wars. Only then will they be able to make the case to politicians to justify their cost, for only then will they be able to speak with one voice as to their purpose and role. As the French writer Alfred de Vigny once wrote, it is both the ‘ grandeurs et servitudes militaires ’ of the officer corps.

Then war might be just a little less unpredictable.

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The Russia-Ukraine war and its ramifications for Russia

Subscribe to the center on the united states and europe update, steven pifer steven pifer nonresident senior fellow - foreign policy , center on the united states and europe , strobe talbott center for security, strategy, and technology , arms control and non-proliferation initiative @steven_pifer.

December 8, 2022

  • 24 min read

This piece is part of a series of policy analyses entitled “ The Talbott Papers on Implications of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine ,” named in honor of American statesman and former Brookings Institution President Strobe Talbott. Brookings is grateful to Trustee Phil Knight for his generous support of the Brookings Foreign Policy program.

Nine months into Russia’s latest invasion of Ukraine, the outcome of the war remains unclear. The Russian military appears incapable of taking Kyiv or occupying a major portion of the country. Ukrainian forces have enjoyed three months of success on the battlefield and could well continue to make progress in regaining territory. The war also could settle into a more drawn-out conflict, with neither side capable of making a decisive breakthrough in the near term.

Projecting the ultimate outcome of the war is challenging. However, some major ramifications for Russia and its relations with Ukraine, Europe, and the United States have come into focus. While the war has been a tragedy for Ukraine and Ukrainians, it has also proven a disaster for Russia — militarily, economically, and geopolitically. The war has badly damaged Russia’s military and tarnished its reputation, disrupted the economy, and profoundly altered the geopolitical picture facing Moscow in Europe. It will make any near-term restoration of a degree of normalcy in U.S.-Russian relations difficult, if not impossible, to achieve.

Russia’s war against Ukraine

This latest phase in hostilities between Russia and Ukraine began on February 24, 2022, when Russian President Vladimir Putin directed his forces to launch a major, multi-prong invasion of Ukraine. The broad scope of the assault, which Putin termed a “special military operation,” suggested that Moscow’s objectives were to quickly seize Kyiv, presumably deposing the government, and occupy as much as the eastern half to two-thirds of the country.

The Russian army gained ground in southern Ukraine, but it failed to take Kyiv. By late March, Russian forces were in retreat in the north. Moscow proclaimed its new objective as occupying all of Donbas, consisting of the oblasts (regions) of Luhansk and Donetsk, some 35% of which had already been occupied by Russian and Russian proxy forces in 2014 and 2015. After three months of grinding battle, Russian forces captured almost all of Luhansk, but they made little progress in Donetsk, and the battlelines appeared to stabilize in August.

In September, the Ukrainian army launched two counteroffensives. One in the northeast expelled Russian forces from Kharkiv oblast and pressed assaults into Luhansk oblast. In the south, the second counteroffensive succeeded in November in driving Russian forces out of Kherson city and the neighboring region, the only area that Russian forces occupied east of the Dnipro River, which roughly bisects Ukraine.

Despite three months of battlefield setbacks, Moscow has shown no indication of readiness to negotiate seriously to end the war. Indeed, on September 30, Putin announced that Russia was annexing Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts, even though Russian forces did not fully control that territory and consistently lost ground there in the following weeks. The Russian military made up for battlefield losses by increasing missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, aimed in particular at disrupting electric power and central heating.

As of late November, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his government insisted on conditions that included Russian withdrawal from all Ukrainian territory (including Crimea and all of Donbas), compensation, and punishment for war crimes. While these are understandable demands given what Ukraine has gone through, achieving them would prove difficult. Still, Kyiv appeared confident that it could liberate more territory even as winter approached.

After nine months of fighting, the Russian military has shown itself incapable of seizing and holding a large part of Ukraine. While the war’s outcome is uncertain, however the conflict ends, a sovereign and independent Ukrainian state will remain on the map of Europe. Moreover, it will be larger than the rump state that the Kremlin envisaged when it launched the February invasion.

Whether the Ukrainian military can drive the Russians completely out or at least back to the lines as of February 23 is also unclear. Some military experts believe this is possible, including the full liberation of Donbas and Crimea. Others offer less optimistic projections. The U.S. intelligence community has forecast that the fighting could drag on and become a war of attrition.

Forging a hostile neighbor

Today, most Ukrainians regard Russia as an enemy.

Of all the pieces of the Russian Empire and Soviet Union that Moscow lost when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, no part meant more to Russians than Ukraine. The two countries’ histories, cultures, languages, and religions were closely intertwined. When the author served at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv at the end of the 1990s, most Ukrainians held either a positive or ambivalent view regarding Russia. That has changed. Today, most Ukrainians regard Russia as an enemy.

Putin’s war has been calamitous for Ukraine. The precise number of military and civilians casualties is unknown but substantial. The Office of the U.N. Commissioner for Human Rights estimated that, as of the end of October, some 6,500 Ukrainian civilians had been killed and another 10,000 injured. Those numbers almost certainly understate the reality. U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley on November 10 put the number of civilian dead at 40,000 and indicated that some 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed or wounded (Milley gave a similar number for Russian casualties, a topic addressed later in this paper).

In addition, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees placed the number of Ukrainians who have sought refuge outside of Ukraine at more than 7.8 million as of November 8. As of mid-November, the Russian attacks had caused an estimated 6.5 million more to become internally displaced persons within Ukraine.

Besides the human losses, the war has caused immense material damage. Estimates of the costs of rebuilding Ukraine run from $349 billion to $750 billion, and those appraisals date back to the summer. Finding those funds will not be easy, particularly as the war has resulted in a significant contraction of the Ukrainian economy; the World Bank expects the country’s gross domestic product to shrink by 35% this year.

All this has understandably affected Ukrainian attitudes. It has deepened the sense of Ukrainian national identity. An August poll showed 85% self-identifying as Ukrainian citizens as opposed to people of some region or ethnic minority; only 64% did so six months earlier — before Russia’s invasion. The invasion has also imbued Ukrainians with a strongly negative view of Russia: The poll showed 92% holding a “bad” attitude regarding Russia as opposed to only 2% with a “good” attitude.

Ukrainians have made clear their resolve to resist. A September Gallup poll reported 70% of Ukrainians determined to fight until victory over Russia. A mid-October Kyiv International Institute of Sociology poll had 86% supporting the war and opposing negotiations with Russia, despite Russian missile attacks against Ukrainian cities.

It will take years, if not decades, to overcome the enmity toward Russia and Russians engendered by the war. One Ukrainian journalist predicted last summer that, after the war’s end, Ukraine would witness a nationwide effort to “cancel” Russian culture, e.g., towns and cities across the country would rename their Pushkin Squares. It has already begun; Odesa intends to dismantle its statue of Catherine the Great, the Russian empress who founded the city in 1794.

Ironically for an invasion launched in part due to Kremlin concern that Ukraine was moving away from Russia and toward the West, the war has opened a previously closed path for Ukraine’s membership in the European Union (EU). For years, EU officials concluded agreements with Kyiv, including the 2014 EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. However, EU officials avoided language that would give Ukraine a membership perspective. In June, four months after Russia’s invasion, the European Council recognized Ukraine’s European perspective and gave it the status of candidate country. Kyiv will need years to meet the EU’s standards, but it now has a membership perspective that it lacked for the first 30 years of its post-Soviet independence.

As for NATO, 10 alliance members have expressed support for a membership path for Ukraine, nine in central Europe plus Canada . Other allies have generally remained silent or noncommittal, reflecting the fact that many, while prepared to provide Ukraine financial and military assistance, are not prepared to go to war with Russia to defend Ukraine. Even though Kyiv cannot expect membership or a membership action plan any time soon, it will have continued NATO support in its fight against Russia and, once the war is over, help in building a modern and robust military to deter a Russian attack in the future.

The Kremlin has sought since the end of the Soviet Union to keep Ukraine bound in a Russian sphere of influence. From that perspective, the last nine years of Russian policy have been an abysmal failure. Nothing has done more than that policy to push Ukraine away from Russia and toward the West, or to promote Ukrainian hostility toward Russia and Russians.

A disaster for Russia’s military and economy

While a tragedy for Ukraine, Putin’s decision to go to war has also proven a disaster for Russia.

While a tragedy for Ukraine, Putin’s decision to go to war has also proven a disaster for Russia. The Russian military has suffered significant personnel and military losses. Economic sanctions imposed by the EU, United States, United Kingdom, and other Western countries have pushed the Russian economy into recession and threaten longer-term impacts, including on the country’s critical energy sector.

In November, Milley put the number of dead and wounded Russian soldiers at 100,000, and that could fall on the low side. A Pentagon official said in early August Russian casualties numbered 70,000-80,000. That was more than three months ago, and those months have shown no kindness to the Russian army. Reports suggest that newly-mobilized and ill-trained Russian units have been decimated in combat.

The Russian military has lost significant amounts of equipment. The Oryx website reports 8,000 pieces of equipment destroyed, damaged, abandoned, or captured, including some 1,500 tanks, 700 armored fighting vehicles, and 1,700 infantry fighting vehicles. Oryx advises that its numbers significantly understate the true nature of Russian losses, as it counts only equipment for which it has unique photo or videographic evidence of its fate. Others report much heavier losses. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin commented that the Russian military had lost “staggering” numbers of tanks and other armored vehicles, adding that Western trade restrictions on microchips would inhibit production of replacements.

As a result of these losses, Russia has had to draw on reserves, including T-64 tanks first produced nearly 50 years ago. It reportedly has turned to tanks from Belarus to replenish its losses. To augment its own munitions, Russia has had to purchase attack drones from Iran and artillery shells from North Korea . As the Russian military has drawn down stocks of surface-to-surface and air-to-surface missiles, it has used S-300 anti-aircraft missiles against ground targets. The Russian defense budget will need years to replace what the military has lost or otherwise expended in Ukraine.

Poor leadership, poor tactics, poor logistics, and underwhelming performance against a smaller and less well-armed foe have left Russia’s military reputation in a shambles. That will have an impact. Over the past decade, Russian weapons exporters saw their share of global arms exports drop by 26%. Countries looking to buy weapons likely will begin to turn elsewhere, given that Russia’s military failed to dominate early in the war, when its largely modernized forces faced a Ukrainian military armed mainly with aging Soviet-era equipment (that began to change only in the summer, when stocks of heavy weapons began arriving from the West).

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As Russia went to war, its economy was largely stagnant ; while it recorded a post-COVID-19 boost in 2021, average real income fell by 10% between 2013 and 2020. It will get worse. The West has applied a host of economic sanctions on the country. While the Russian Central Bank’s actions have mitigated the worst impacts, the Russian economy nevertheless contracted by 5% year-on-year compared to September 2021. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development expects Russia’s economy to contract by 3.9% in 2022 and 5.6% in 2023, and a confidential study supposedly done for the Kremlin projected an “inertial” case in which the economy bottomed out only in 2023 at 8.3% below 2021. One economist notes that the West’s cut-off of chips and microelectronics has devastated automobile, aircraft, and weapons production, with the output of cars falling by 90% between March and September; he expects a long run of stagnation.

In addition to coping with the loss of high-tech and other key imports, the Russian economy faces brain drain, particularly in the IT sector, that began in February as well as the departure of more than 1,000 Western companies. It also has a broader labor force challenge. The military has mobilized 300,000 men, and the September mobilization order prompted a new flood of Russians leaving the country, with more than 200,000 going to Kazakhstan. Some estimates suggest several hundred thousand others have fled to other countries. Taken together, that means something like three-quarters of a million men unavailable to work in the economy.

Russia thus far has staved off harsher economic difficulties in part because of its oil and gas exports and high energy prices. High prices have partially offset the decline in volume of oil and gas exports. That may soon change, at least for oil. The EU banned the purchase of Russian crude oil beginning on December 5, and the West is prohibiting shipping Russian oil on Western-flagged tankers or insuring tankers that move Russian oil if the oil is sold above a certain price, now set at $60 per barrel. The price cap — if it works as planned — could cut sharply into the revenues that Russian oil exports generate. The cap will require that Russian exporters discount the price of oil that they sell; the higher the discount, the less revenue that will flow to Russia.

Weaning Europe off of Russian gas poses a more difficult challenge, but EU countries have made progress by switching to imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Moreover, European companies have found ways to cut energy use; for example, 75% of German firms that use gas report that they have reduced gas consumption without having to cut production. EU countries face a much better energy picture this winter than anticipated several months ago. If Europe successfully ends its import of Russian piped natural gas, that will pose a major problem for Gazprom, Russia’s large gas exporter. Gazprom’s gas exports move largely by pipeline, and Gazprom’s gas pipeline structure is oriented primarily toward moving gas from the western Siberian and Yamal gas fields to Europe. New pipelines would be needed to switch the flow of that gas to Asia. If Europe can kick the Russian gas habit, Gazprom will see a significant decline in its export volumes, unless it can build new pipelines to Asian markets and/or greatly expand its LNG export capacity, all of which will be expensive.

A further problem facing Russia’s energy sector is that, as existing oil and gas fields are depleted, Russian energy companies must develop new fields to sustain production levels. Many of the potential new fields are in the Arctic region or off-shore and will require billions — likely, tens of billions — of dollars of investment. Russian energy companies, however, will not be able to count on Western energy companies for technical expertise, technology, or capital. That will hinder future production of oil and gas, as current fields become exhausted.

Another potential economic cost looms. The West has frozen more than $300 billion in Russian Central Bank reserves. As damages in Ukraine mount, pressure will grow to seize some or all of these assets for a Ukraine reconstruction fund. Western governments thus far show little enthusiasm for the idea. That said, it is difficult to see how they could turn to their taxpayers for money to assist Ukraine’s rebuilding while leaving the Russian Central Bank funds intact and/or releasing those funds back to Russia.

Western sanctions did not produce the quick crash in the ruble or the broader Russian economy that some expected. However, their impact could mean a stagnant economy in the longer term, and they threaten to cause particular problems in the energy sector and other sectors that depend on high-tech inputs imported from the West. Moscow does not appear to have handy answers to these problems.

Changed geopolitics in Europe

In 2021, Moscow saw a West that was divided and preoccupied with domestic politics. The United States was recovering from four years of the Trump presidency, post-Brexit politics in Britain remained tumultuous, Germany faced September elections to choose the first chancellor in 16 years not named Angela Merkel, and France had a presidential election in early 2022. That likely affected Putin’s decision to launch his February invasion. In the event, NATO and the EU responded quickly and in a unified manner, and the invasion has prompted a dramatic reordering of the geopolitical scene in Europe. European countries have come to see Russia in a threatening light, reminiscent of how they viewed the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War. NATO’s June 2022 summit statement was all about deterrence and defense with regard to Russia, with none of earlier summits’ language on areas of cooperation.

Few things epitomize the change more than the Zeitenwende (turning-point) in German policy. In the days following the Russian invasion, Berlin agreed to sanctions on Russian banks that few expected the Germans to approve, reversed a long-standing ban on exporting weapons to conflict zones in order to provide arms to Ukraine, established a 100-billion-euro ($110 billion) fund for its own rearmament, and announced the purchase of American dual-capable F-35 fighters to sustain the German Air Force’s nuclear delivery role. Just days before the assault, the German government said it would stop certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Berlin’s follow-up has been bumpy and, at times, seemingly half-hearted, which has frustrated many of its partners. Still, in a few short weeks in late February and early March, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition government erased five decades of German engagement with Moscow.

Other NATO members have also accelerated their defense spending. According to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, European allies and Canada have boosted defense spending by a total of $350 billion compared to levels in 2014, when the alliance — following Russia’s seizure of Crimea — set the goal for each member of 2% of gross domestic product devoted to defense by 2024. Stoltenberg added that nine members had met the 2% goal while 10 others intended to do so by 2024. Poland plans to raise its defense spending to 3% next year, and other allies have suggested the 3% target as well.

Moscow did not like the small multinational battlegroups that NATO deployed in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland beginning in 2017. Each numbered some 1,000-1,500 troops (battalion-sized) and were described as “tripwire” forces. Since February, NATO has deployed additional battlegroups in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Slovakia and decided on a more robust forward presence, including brigade-sized units, while improving capabilities for reinforcement. The U.S. military presence in Europe and European waters has grown from 80,000 service personnel to 100,000 and includes deployment of two F-35 squadrons to Britain, more destroyers to be homeported in Spain, and a permanent headquarters unit in Poland.

In addition to larger troop deployments, the Baltic Sea has seen a geopolitical earthquake. Finland and Sweden, which long pursued policies of neutrality, applied to join NATO in May and completed accession protocols in July. They have significant military capabilities. Their accession to the alliance, expected in early 2023, will make the Baltic Sea effectively a NATO lake, leaving Russia with just limited access from the end of the Gulf of Finland and its Kaliningrad exclave.

In early 2014, NATO deployed virtually no ground combat forces in countries that had joined the alliance after 1997. That began changing after Russia’s seizure of Crimea. The recent invasion has further energized NATO and resulted in its enlargement by two additional members. As Russia has drawn down forces opposite NATO countries (and Finland) in order to deploy them to Ukraine, the NATO military presence on Russia’s western flank has increased.

The Kremlin has waged a two-front war this year, fighting on the battlefield against Ukraine while seeking to undermine Western financial and military support for Kyiv. The Russians are losing on both fronts.

The Kremlin has waged a two-front war this year, fighting on the battlefield against Ukraine while seeking to undermine Western financial and military support for Kyiv. The Russians are losing on both fronts. The Russian military has been losing ground to the Ukrainian army and has carried out a campaign of missile strikes against power, heat, and water utilities in the country, which threatens a humanitarian crisis . Much will depend on how bad the winter is, but Ukrainians have shown remarkable resilience in restoring utilities, and the Russian attacks could further harden their resolve. Moreover, the brutality of the Russian missile campaign has already led Ukraine’s Western supporters to provide Kyiv more sophisticated air defenses, and pressures could grow to provide other weapons as well.

As for the second front, despite high energy prices, having to house the majority of the nearly eight million Ukrainians who have left their country, and concerns over how long the fighting might last, European support for Ukraine has not slackened. Russian hints of nuclear escalation caused concern but did not weaken European support for Ukraine, and Moscow has markedly deescalated the nuclear rhetoric in recent weeks. Given Russia’s relationship with China, the Kremlin certainly noticed Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent criticism of nuclear threats.

It appears Moscow’s influence elsewhere is slipping, including among post-Soviet states. Kazakhstan has boosted its defense spending by more than 50%. In June, on a stage with Putin in St. Petersburg, its president pointedly declined to follow Russia’s lead in recognizing the so-called Luhansk and Donetsk “people’s republics” as independent states. Neither Kazakhstan nor any other member of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) — or any other post-Soviet state, for that matter — has recognized Russia’s claimed annexations of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. In a remarkable scene at an October Russia-Central Asia summit, Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon openly challenged Putin for his lack of respect for Central Asian countries. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan spoiled a late November CSTO summit; he refused to sign a leaders’ declaration and noticeably moved away from Putin during the summit photo op.

More broadly, in October, the U.N. General Assembly approved a resolution calling for rejection — and demanding reversal — of Moscow’s illegal annexation of the Ukrainian oblasts by a vote of 143-5 (35 abstaining). A recent article documented how Russia has found its candidates rejected and its participation suspended in a string of U.N. organizations, including the International Telecommunications Union, Human Rights Council, Economic and Social Council, and International Civil Aviation Organization. Putin chose not to attend the November G-20 summit in Bali, likely reflecting his expectation that other leaders would have snubbed him and refused to meet bilaterally, as well as the criticism he would have encountered in multilateral sessions. The summit produced a leaders’ declaration that, while noting “other views,” leveled a harsh critique at Moscow for its war on Ukraine.

A deep freeze with Washington

While U.S.-Russian relations had fallen to a post-Cold War low point in 2020, the June 2021 summit that U.S. President Joe Biden held with Putin gave a modest positive impulse to the relationship. U.S. and Russian officials that fall broadened bilateral diplomatic contacts and gave a positive assessment to the strategic stability dialogue, terming the exchanges “intensive and substantive.” Moreover, Washington saw a possible drop-off in malicious cyber activity originating from Russia. However, the Russian invasion prompted a deep freeze in the relationship, and Washington made clear that business as usual was off the table.

U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, and CIA Director Bill Burns nevertheless have kept channels open to their Russian counterparts. These lines of communication seek to avoid miscalculation — particularly miscalculation that could lead to a direct U.S.-Russia or NATO-Russia clash — and reduce risk. But other channels remain largely unused. Burns’s November 14 meeting with Sergey Naryshkin, head of the Russian external intelligence service, was the most senior face-to-face meeting between U.S. and Russian officials in nine months. Biden and Putin have not spoken directly with one another since February, and that relationship seems irretrievably broken.

In a positive glimmer, Biden told the U.N. General Assembly “No matter what else is happening in the world, the United States is ready to pursue critical arms control measures.” Speaking in June, the Kremlin spokesperson said “we are interested [in such talks]… Such talks are necessary.” U.S. officials have privately indicated that, while they have prerequisites for resuming the strategic dialogue, progress on ending the Russia-Ukraine war is not one of them. This leaves room for some hope that, despite their current adversarial relationship, Washington and Moscow may still share an interest in containing their competition in nuclear arms.

Beyond that, however, it is difficult to see much prospect for movement toward a degree of normalcy in the broader U.S.-Russia relationship. With Moscow turning to Iran and North Korea for weapons, Washington cannot count on Russian help in trying to bring Tehran back into the nuclear deal (the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) or to increase pressure on North Korea to end its missile launches and not to conduct another nuclear test. Likewise, coordination on Syria is less likely. It may well be that any meaningful improvement in the overall bilateral relationship requires Putin’s departure from the Kremlin. A second requirement could be that Putin’s successor adopt policy changes to demonstrate that Russia is altering course and prepared to live in peace with its neighbors.

What happens will depend on how the Russian elite and public view his performance; while some signs of disaffection over the war have emerged, it is too early to forecast their meaning for Putin’s political longevity.

This does not mean to advocate a policy of regime change in Russia. That is beyond U.S. capabilities, especially given the opacity of today’s Kremlin. U.S. policy should remain one of seeking a change in policy, not regime. That said, the prospects for improving U.S.-Russian relations appear slim while Putin remains in charge. What happens will depend on how the Russian elite and public view his performance; while some signs of disaffection over the war have emerged , it is too early to forecast their meaning for Putin’s political longevity.

Still, while it remains difficult to predict the outcome of the war or the impact it may have on Putin’s time in the Kremlin, there is little doubt that the fighting with Ukraine and its ramifications will leave Russia diminished in significant ways. It must contend with a badly-damaged military that will take years to reconstitute; years of likely economic stagnation cut off from key high-tech imports; a potentially worsening situation with regard to energy exports and future production; an alarmed, alienated, and rearming Europe; and a growing political isolation that will leave Moscow even more dependent on its relationship with China. Putin still seems to cling to his desire of “regaining” part of Ukraine, which he considers “historic Russian land.” But the costs of that for Russia mount by the day.

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War and its Effects

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War is a situation whereby there is an armed type of disagreement/conflict between members of the similar or different society 1 . War is characterized by the use of irregular or regular military forces accompanied by acts of extreme aggression, mortality or destruction of property. War can be dated back to the Mesolithic times around fourteen thousand years ago. The Mesolithic cemetery site has skeletons of which more than forty percent of them can be attributed to wars as the great cause of death 2 . Over the years there have been very many different types of war though they all share the same characteristics. War has at times been seen as a universal and ancestral aspect of people while other scholars argue socio-cultural or ecological differences cause it. Despite the perspective from which war can occur, it leads to significant deterioration of infrastructure, the ecosystem, loss of lives and displacement of people. 

Effects of War 

The development of technology gave rise to the invention of more deadly weapons which gave rise to an advantageous position to some countries. It is seen in the case of weapons such as the nuclear weapons, guns and fighter jets 3 .Of all the wars that have occurred in the world, the most deadly regarding the number of deaths caused is the Second World War. It took place between 1939 and 1945 and had more than 80 million deaths were linked to it. The Triple Alliance War is the most destructive for it took more than 55% of the lives of the Paraguay's entire population 4 . These wars are a clear indication of the results that come from it once people engage in it. War has come to be recognized as the world's sixth out of ten problems that might face human beings come the next fifty years. 

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Wars such as the World War II had extreme effects on countries that participated in it and those in which no battles occurred. The wars caused disruptions to many homes and destroyed many families in the process. In the case of the America, the Word War II and I battles did not take place in the country's central lands. However, it participated in the two wars through the massive production of weapons that it supplied its alliances that were fighting against countries such as Germany, Japan and Italy and also protect itself. At the time, the women were discriminated against in the job market, and few or no positions were open for them. For those who were lucky of getting jobs, they were paid lower rates than the men even though they worked in the same type of job. The massive production of weapons in America gave the women the leeway to get jobs within the industrial job market 5 .It is because, most of the men were to get allocated to military service thus there was a shortage of workers who would oversee the manufacture the weapons from 1941 to 1944, the number of working women increased from 14 million to about twenty million. The World War II is what gave the women an opportunity to get jobs within the industrial production sector. 

Wars are also known to affect the political institutions of different countries 6 . In the World War I, Germany had to sign the Versailles Treaty. This was to make the country give up some of its territorial boundaries on the eastern and western borders. The German government gave the Alsace-Lorraine to France. The two nations had been in dispute over the borders for a long time. Germany had taken the land away from France during the Franco-Prussian war of 1871 thus France wanted it back. After France and Great Britain emerged victorious during the World War I, they demanded their lands back. Germany was also forced to give away some of its boundaries to Poland and Denmark. World War I also led to the Russian Revolution of 1917 7 .The current government at that time was removed from power and taken over by Vladimir Lenin who was a socialist. New states also emerged in Europe that had earlier been part of the Russian Empire such as Lithuania, Finland and Estonia 

The economic impacts of war can be positive or negative to the countries involved. In the case of the World War I, the United States ripped big from it, unlike its European counterpart countries. The USA did not become affected by the war for no conflicts occurred in the country. Only the American factories were involved in the fight through manufacturing of weapons. For countries such as the United Kingdom and France, they suffered enormous economic setbacks though they were able to recover quickly. A country like Germany had its economy affected very much. The country had to sign treaties an example of the Versailles treaty that required it to make monetary payments to the Allies countries. With its destruction on infrastructure and they forced payments, the country experienced a massive economic depression that saw increased unemployment rates and hyperinflation in districts such as Weimar. The country's currency, reichsmarks also devalued requiring one to have a wheelbarrow so as to load money to purchase essential items such as bread. 

The Second World War (1939-1945) saw countries trying to outdo each other in terms of power, technology and science. Most of the terrible developments in humanity's history can be linked to this war. It is during this war that the countries started bombing each other as the alliances sought victory over the other. Germany was the most affected country during the World War II as a result of bombings on its key economical cities 8 . Some of the cities that were bombed include Kassel that saw more than ten thousand civilians dead. In Darmstadt, more than 12,000 people lost their lives, Pforzheim more than 21,000, Berlin more than 40,000, and Dresden more than 25,000. Lastly, Hamburg lost more than 45,000. Other countries that suffered as result of bombings include Japan, and Tokyo city which saw more than 100,000 deaths and Osaka, 10,000. 

Despite the size of any type of war, it always has far reaching implications on the lives of the civilians. The women at times are the most affected for some will have to take new roles as the heads of their families following the deaths of their husbands who participated in the military wars. In wars such as the Civil War in America, women had to step into the shoes of men by working in occupations that had been left vacant. They would operate the factory machinery and the operation of plantations and farms by themselves. The civilian women had also to take up jobs as military nurses so that they could aid in the treating of wounded soldiers during the war. To the women, the Civil War had two effects on them, i.e. they were able to acquire equal voting rights for themselves and the nursing field was open to them unlike before whereby only men could undertake the profession 9 . Many civilians also become subjected to death, disabilities and various injuries on their bodies. Most of them were just innocent parties in these wars. Most civilians become forced to migrate to new lands as their original homes become destroyed due to the war. 

Long Term Effects of War 

Soldiers do not suffer at the battle field but they end up getting long-term physical and psychological effects. During the First World War (1914-1918), the soldiers suffered from disease such as tuberculosis, asthma and trench foot. The trench foot was caused as a result of the wet and unsanitary conditions posed by the water-filled channels the soldier would move through 10 .The soldiers also suffered from shell-shock. Following the witnessing of death as a result of combat, use of intimate violence and witnessing their friends dying during war is what led to psychological disorders among these soldiers. Once they came out of wars, most soldiers suffered from traumatic mental health disorders which worsened due to inaccessibility to psychological experts and therapist. Most of the soldiers involved themselves in suicidal attempts as a result of the mental health condition. 

The Civil War had positive long lasting effects on the USA. It led to industrialization and the creation of an American country that was just and democratic. Before the Civil War, America had been linked to various injustices especially slavery that had significantly tarnished its name. By the Civil War ending slavery, it brought about racial equity in the country and an end to the South's aristocratic form of governance. The state also started becoming industrialized after the Southern states passed laws that allowed for the construction of transcontinental rail road. This is what created the beginning of industrialization and has helped the USA became among the world's top economically stable countries 11 . 

During the Second World War, USA bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki using nuclear weapons. This saw the death of more than 140,000 people with tens of thousands dying instantly while the rest succumbed to various forms of injuries for weeks and even today. The major effects of this bombing was the exposure o both people and the environment to radiation. Most of the people who were exposed to radiation still suffer from different forms of cancers such as leukemia. According to a study carried out by Radiation Effects Research Foundation on 94,000 survivors of the bombing, they have proven that they still suffer from effects of the radiation. According to RERF, it has been able to link more than 800 different types of cancerous tumors. 

Conclusion 

War has positive and adverse effects on either parties involved in it. However, the benefits of war are outweighed by the disadvantages. With advancement in technology, more deadly weapons have been made such as the bombs, guns and fighter jets. These weapons at times are sued by countries to prove their power as seen in the Second World War. In a country such as America, the Civil War brought an end to slavery and initiated industrialization. However, despite this, millions of people had to loose their lives and suffer from injuries. Wars such as the World War I and II also benefited countries such as France, the United Kingdom and the USA though still, it led to the loss of lives. The most major effects of war are the loss of lives for both the soldiers' innocent civilians and soldiers. Conflicting parties should come up with better means of solving their disputes. 

Bibliography 

Beevor, Antony.  The Second World War . London: Orion, 2012. 

Brezina, Corona. The Treaty of Versailles, 1919: a primary source examination of the treaty that ended World War I . New York, NY: Rosen Pub. Group, 2006. 

Grogan, Suzie. Shell-shocked Britain: the First World War's legacy for Britain's mental health . Barnsley, Eng: Pen and Sword, 2014. 

Leuchars, Chris.  To the bitter end: Paraguay and the War of the Triple Alliance . Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2002. 

Otterbein, Keith F. How war began . College Station: Texas A & M Univ. Press, 2004.  

Potts, Malcolm, and Thomas Hayden.  Sex and war: how biology explains warfare and terrorism and offers a path to a safer world . New York NY: BenBella, 2010. 

Prince, Cathryn J. Death in the Baltic the World War II Sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff . New York NY: St. Martin's Press, 2014. 

Ruchir, Shah. The civil war . Barrington, RI: EZ Comics, 2007. 

Shah, Ruchir.  The civil war . Barrington, RI: EZ Comics, 2007. 

Wade, Rex A. The Russian Revolution, 1917 . Cambridge (GB): Cambridge University, 2005.  

1 Keith F. Otterbein.  How war began , (College Station CS: Texas A & M Univ. Press, 2004), 298.

2 Malcolm, Potts and Thomas Hayden,  Sex and war: how biology explains warfare and terrorism and offers a path to a safer world , ( New York NY: BenBella, 2010), 334.

3 Cathryn J. Prince,  Death in the Baltic the World War II Sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff , (New York NY: St. Martin's Press, 2014.), 100-170 . 

4 , Chris Leuchars, T o the Bitter End: Paraguay and the War of the Triple Alliance , (Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2002), 219.

5 Cathryn J. Prince,  Death in the Baltic the World WarII, 150.

6 Corona Brezina,  The Treaty of Versailles, 1919: a primary source examination of the treaty that ended World War I , (New York NY: Rosen Pub. Group, 2006), 114.

7 Rex A. Wade,  the Russian Revolution, 1917 , (Cambridge GB: Cambridge University, 2005), 1-10.

8 Antony Beevor, The Second World War , (London: Orion, 2012), 20, 30.

9 Shah Ruchir.  The civil war . (Barrington, RI: EZ Comics, 2007), 15.

10 Suzie Grogan,  Shell-shocked Britain: the First World War's legacy for Britain's mental health . (Barnsley, Eng: Pen and Sword, 2014), 85.

11 Antony Beevor,  The Second World War . 26.

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World War II Propaganda and Its Effects Essay

Propaganda has always been one of the most important tools of the government. Having a group of people think alike and believe a particular agenda is very useful, as it eliminates doubts and perturbations and focuses its members on the completion of certain tasks. However, in the 20th century, propaganda has become a euphemism for lies, slander, and corruption aiming to brainwash the people into passivity in the face of evil or into committing atrocities in the name of obscure and unjust goals.[1]

While always present and utilized to push various agendas both within countries and across their borders, the first half of the 20th century could be considered the Golden Age of propaganda as a tool of control. The emergence of two ideologically inclined superpowers, such as Nazi Germany and the USSR, also meant the emergence of two powerful propaganda machines. The fierce military conflict between these nations, the bloodiest and fiercest theater of the Second World War, took the lives of more than 34 million people.[2]

At the same time, it showcased the power and usefulness of propaganda to unify the people under one goal, motivate them to sacrifice their lives for the cause, and commit atrocities and acts of heroism in the name of their leaders, their people, and their country. The purpose of this paper is to examine the confrontation between the German and the Soviet propaganda machines during the period of the Second Patriotic War (1941-1945), outline the goals and purposes of each, and identify the changes that both of them had on the psyches of both German and Soviet people.

What is Propaganda?

Before proceeding with the historical dissemination of the available facts regarding propaganda during the Second World War, it is important to understand the meaning of the word. Propaganda is a word of Latin origin, derived from the word “propagate,” or “to propagate.” For the first time, the word propaganda was utilized in 1622, as a name for a particular department within the Catholic faith responsible for external missions to non-Christian countries with the intention to spread the faith.[3]

Although initially the word was utilized with a religious connotation, its meaning in the 21st century is different. Modern dictionaries define propaganda as means of providing information that is not objective with the purpose of influencing the audience and altering their perception of facts by providing false or selective information in order to further a political agenda. Propaganda utilizes any means of conveying its message, be it the press, the radio, the news channels, demonstrations, word-of-mouth, etcetera.

The first historical evidence of propaganda being used as a political tool goes way back to the 6th century BC and the rise of Darius I of the Persian Empire.[4] The ultimate goal of propaganda, thus, is to influence the minds of the people in a particular way, and rulers have acknowledged the need for public support since the dawn of time.

Tools of Propaganda

Scholars of propaganda have identified over 60 effective techniques used in order to sway individual and public opinions in the direction required by those initiating a propaganda effort. While these tools are many, this chapter is going to cover seven staple propaganda techniques actively used by both sides of the conflict in order to either bolster their own civilians or troops or sow discord within enemy ranks. Some of these techniques are as follows:[5]

  • The demonization of the enemy. Perhaps, one of the oldest propaganda techniques. It involves dehumanizing the enemy by portraying them as something subhuman, evil, making it easier to justify any atrocities committed against them and any measures aimed against them.
  • Ad nauseam. This technique involves constant repetition of an idea or a slogan in order for the people to start believing it is true. Frequently used in various demonstrations or through other means of communication, such as radio, TV, and the press.
  • Appeals to fear. This technique is used in order to instill fear and dread of something within the general populace in order to advocate measures and decisions that are supposed to be aimed against such a development.
  • Demoralization. A set of propaganda techniques aimed at eroding the spirit of the enemy in order to cause discord, desertion, and instability within their ranks. Usually comes in the form of messages that depict the futility of struggle or directly offending the leadership of the opposing side.
  • Loaded language. This tool helps influence the listeners by using words that have either strongly positive or negative connotations in order to achieve a particular goal.
  • Media control. This technique usually goes in tow with Ad nauseam, as it involves the media presenting facts piece-meal or blatantly lying, but repeating the message enough for it to stay in the minds of the populace. Very similar to techniques used in classical conditioning, but on a much wider scale.
  • Exaggeration. Intentionally maximizing personal successes and victories, as well as the flaws and failures of the enemy while minimizing own failures and shortcomings. Frequently used by both sides of the conflict.

While during the confrontation between Nazi Germany and the USSR, both sides have utilized a much wider variety of methods and tools in order to win, these methods were the most visible and easy to spot. The propaganda war between these nations was multi-layered and had lasting effects on the psyche of both nations, some of which persist even up to this day.

Nazi Propaganda between 1941-1945: Goals, Tools, and Effects

Reich Minister Paul Joseph Goebbels is considered the architect of Nazi Germany’s propaganda machine and the father of modern propaganda in general.[6] He was among the first to recognize the potential behind media control and its ability to influence the minds of his nation. The effects of his propaganda were profound and immense, as up to the last days of the war, a good portion of Germans believed in close victory and continued to fight for an already lost cause.

The goals of Goebbels’ propaganda were changing as the war went on and were highly connected to the Nazi Party’s overall agenda as well as the situation on the frontlines. The overall purposes of his propaganda were four:

  • To bolster the morale of the troops.
  • To instill discipline as well as inspire loyalty, selflessness, and dedication to the cause at home.
  • To introduce the doctrine of Total War.
  • To breed hatred towards the Reich’s enemies based race and political views.[7]

Although German propaganda avidly used all informational outlets in order to convey its message to the masses; its primary tools were the cinema and the radio. At the beginning of the war, Germany was already a highly industrialized and wealthy nation, as riches from conquered countries were poured into Germany. The country’s military complex also produced numerous household appliances. Almost every German home had a radio, which exposed it to Goebbels’s propaganda on a regular basis.

Cinema was also very important in his propaganda efforts, as it allowed to convey a verbal message in addition to striking and patriotic visuals. Every movie showed at German theaters began with an obligatory 15-30 minute propaganda picture of Die Deutsche Wochenschau. Overall, out of 1300 German movies produced between 1941-1945, almost 200 were made with the sole purpose of propaganda.[8]

At the beginning of the war, German propaganda was largely motivated by the Nazi doctrine titled “Lebensraum,” which translates into “Living space,” which suggested a military push eastward in order to free those lands for the Germans. Freeing those lands, subsequently, meant the extermination of over 70% of the Slavic population occupying it and enslavement of the rest in concentration camps.[9]

To accomplish these inhuman goals, Goebbels needed to mold and prepared the German psyche into accepting the war as inevitable and being willing to commit atrocities in the name of the Reich. This preparation started at least a decade before the war. The Soviets were depicted as a threat to Germany and the Western way of life as a whole. The soldiers were being taught not to view the enemy soldiers and civilians as people, with crimes and atrocities against the civilian populace and prisoners of war being permitted by the official orders and documents of German high command. The soldiers were being convinced of a quick and easy victory, drawing parallels with France.

However, as the war went on, and it became apparent that the USSR would not be defeated quickly and easily, the tone of German propaganda began to change. Fact obfuscation and exaggeration techniques were used to great effect in order to convince the Germans that the war was still going as planned. At the same time, patriotism and selflessness for the cause were widely propagated as a means of increasing recruitment rates and bolstering the production by involving women and children.

Near the end of the war, when the situation was desperate, Goebbels’ propaganda started aiming at children as a makeshift replacement for soldiers lost in the Eastern front. Hitler Youths and Volksturm were widely utilized in a vain attempt to contain the Soviet offensive. Due to how effective and all-encompassing Goebbels’ propaganda machine was, many Germans lived in ignorance of the war until it came to their doorstep.[10]

However, Goebbels’ propaganda was not aimed at Germans and its allies alone. Working with the populations of occupied territories was paramount to the German war effort as well. Germans used loudspeakers and dropped leaflets on Soviet positions in order to convince the soldiers of the opposing side to switch sides or surrender. While these techniques were effective at the beginning of the war, as the crimes committed against POWs and civilians behind enemy lines were discovered, the effectiveness of German propaganda efforts against the Red Army dropped significantly.[11]

Due to the unpopularity of the Soviet government in some occupied areas such as Ukraine, Poland, and Belarus, attempts were made to separate and disintegrate the communities by creating myriads of factions that were supposed to be hostile to one another.[12] Other than that, Goebbels fueled nationalistic tendencies in those territories, which resulted in the formation of various collaborationist paramilitary forces such as the Russian Liberation Army, Polish SS legion, etc. Efforts were made to make the population support the occupation troops and refuse to engage in guerrilla warfare that was undermining the German lines. In occupied territories, leaflets, pictures, and loudspeakers were the main tools of propaganda, as peasant households did not have radios.

Soviet Propaganda between 1941-1945: Goals, Tools, and Effects

The Soviet propaganda machine started off, arguably, in the worst position when compared to its German counterparts. The beginning of the war was disastrous for the Soviets, with many divisions located near the Soviet-German border being surrounded and captured by the Germans. Mass surrenders, coupled with a lack of will to fight, promised to lose the war within months. Thus, the first and main goal of the Soviet propaganda machine was to bolster the country’s spirit and ignite the will to fight the foreign invaders.

The main propaganda instruments utilized by the Soviets were the press, word-of-mouth, and loudspeakers. Unlike Germany, the USSR was only rebuilding its means of production. The majority of the households did not possess any radios, which was a significant limitation. Fortunately, the results of the War on Illiteracy, which was conducted by the Bolsheviks in 1920-1930, managed to increase literacy rates among the Soviet people from 20-30% according to the data collected in 1916 to nearly 90% by the end of 1939, which enabled the use of the press and informative leaflets as primary propaganda outlets.[13] Word-of-mouth was also widespread.

In the Red Army, propaganda efforts were conducted by political commissars, who were re-introduced in 1941 in order to ensure loyalty among the commanders and troops. Their primary role involved reading informative leaflets to the troops and use personal knowledge and charisma in order to make propaganda more personified and efficient.

The three core motives found in almost all Soviet propaganda of that period revolves around hatred, heroism, and sacrifice. The atrocities committed by the Germans towards civilian populations of the occupied territories served as powerful propaganda fuel for Soviet soldiers. Pictures of executed civilians, villages and cities burned to the ground, murdered women and children were vastly more powerful than any rhetoric that German propaganda was able to provide.

The Soviets engaged in psychological warfare in an effort to demoralize German troops. One of the famous techniques used by the Soviets is the “Metronome.” Using loudspeakers, they broadcasted pleasant music over to the German positions, which was suddenly interrupted by a loud ticking of the metronome. During it, a somber voice informed the Germans that every 7 seconds, a German soldier dies. This technique was utilized to a great effect in the Battle of Stalingrad.

Motives of revenge were a powerful weapon of Soviet war propaganda. Soviet poets and writers managed to produce many hate-field poems with great utilization of loaded language to convey the atrocities committed by the Germans on Soviet soil. Examples of poetry and music used for propaganda purposes include Ilya Ehrenburg’s poem titled “Kill the German,” as well as “The Sacred War,” written by Alexander Alexandrov and Vasily Lebedev-Kumasi. Both pieces are extremely powerful in their own right, capable of instilling righteous anger and inspire soldiers and civilians alike to fight and toil in defense of their country.[14]

Notable Effects and Changing Impact of German and Soviet War Propaganda

One of the more notable effects of German and Soviet propaganda alike is that they both helped escalate violence against each other. German propaganda was more efficient in that regard. If we take a look at Soviet losses suffered during the war, out of 27 million dead, more than 10 million are civilian casualties. Although certain apologists argue that the majority of atrocities were committed by the SS, the sheer magnitude and number of civilian casualties, as well as overwhelming evidence obtained from various sources, suggests that regular Wehrmacht was also actively taking part in the subjugation and extermination of the civilian populace.[15]

The demonization and dehumanization of the enemy, propagated by German media, made this a reality. Soviet propaganda, who also used hatred as a weapon, is to blame for the atrocities committed by Soviet troops on German soil. The most famous and notable act of violence against the civilian population was in the aftermath of the Battle of Berlin, where thousands of German women were either raped or killed.[16]

Aftereffects of German and Soviet war propaganda are visible even in the 21st century. In Russia and many post-soviet republics, the word “fascist” is considered one of the worst insults, as it is used with a malicious connotation. The dismounting of Goebbels’ propaganda in Germany after the Second World War caused a nation-wide cognitive dissonance, followed by nation-wide feelings of guilt and effective dissemination of national identity.

The effectiveness of propaganda for either side largely depended on how it correlated with the reality of the situation at the frontlines. Soviet propaganda was on the back foot for the first year of the conflict, as it tried to inspire the troops by using unpopular political slogans and demanding loyalty to the Communist Party. However, once German war atrocities were exposed and the message changed from loyalty to communism towards loyalty to the Motherland, the effectiveness of Soviet propaganda was increased tenfold.[17]

German propaganda, on the other hand, was at its peak at the beginning of the war, when the promises of easy victory correlated with successes of the German Wehrmacht. However, after the Soviets managed to stop the Germans in the Battle of Moscow, and the perspectives of ending the war within a year became more and more unlikely, the effectiveness of propaganda among the troops began to drop.

The Eastern front turned out to be a nightmare when compared to relatively easy victories the Germans had in France, Poland, and the majority of Europe. Goebbels’ propaganda machine managed to deceive the German population at home, up until the point when Soviet artillery began shelling the city. Ultimately, no amount of brainwashing and propaganda was able to hide the truth of Germany’s imminent defeat.[18]

Conclusions

Although the word “propaganda” used to have a neutral connotation to itself, the application of it during World War 2 managed to demonstrate its terrifying power. Words alone were capable of moving armies, brainwashing entire countries, and having soldiers commit acts of terror that the world has never seen before. At the same time, tools of propaganda were used to mobilize the nations in times of great need, which changed the course of history.

Without propaganda, Nazi Germany would not have existed, and the nations of the USSR would not have survived the battle for survival. The legacy of these countries in the field of propaganda lives on; however, as many nations across the globe have adopted their tools in order to further their own political agendas. As long as there will be states and governments, propaganda will continue to exist. It is useful, to a degree, as a tool of the state. The challenge, however, is to prevent history from repeating itself.

Bibliography

Balfour, Michael. Propaganda in War. London: Faber & Faber, 1993.

Bartov, Omar. The Eastern Front, 1941-45: German Troops and the Barbarisation of Warfare. London: Palgrave, 2001.

Burds, Jeffrey. “Sexual Violence in Europe in World War II, 1939-1945.” Politics & Society 37, no. 1 (2009): 35-73.

Cull, Nicholas, David Culbert, and David Welch. Propaganda and Mass Persuasion: A Historical Encyclopedia 1500 to the Present. Oxford: ABC Clio, 2003.

Fateev, Andrew. Image of the Enemy in Soviet Propaganda. 1945-1954. Moscow: RAN, 1999.

Herz, Martin. “Some Psychological Lessons from Leaflet Propaganda in World War II.” Public Opinion Quarterly 13, no. 3 (1949): 471-486.

Kallis, Aristotle. Nazi Propaganda and the Second World War. London: Palgrave, 2005.

Pauley, Bruce. Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini: Totalitarianism in the Twentieth Century. New York: Wiley, 2014.

Reese, Willy Peter. A Stranger to Myself. The Inhumanity of War: Russia: 1941-1944. New York: Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux, 2003.

Short, Kenneth. Film and Radio Propaganda in World War 2. London: Croom Helm, 1983.

Sobolev, Ivan. Results of the Second World War. Moscow: IIL, 1957.

Thurston, Robert, and Bernd Bonwetsch. The Peoples’ War: Responses to World War II in the Soviet Union. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2003.

Vincent, Arnold. The Illusion of Victory: Fascist Propaganda and the Second World War. New York: Peter Lang, 1998.

  • Nicholas Cull et al., Propaganda and Mass Persuasion: A Historical Encyclopedia 1500 to the Present (Oxford: ABC Clio, 2003), 23.
  • Omer Bartov, The Eastern Front, 1941-45: German Troops and the Barbarisation of Warfare (London: Palgrave, 2001), 12.
  • Nicholas Cull et al., Propaganda and Mass Persuasion: A Historical Encyclopedia 1500 to the Present (Oxford: ABC Clio, 2003), 7.
  • Balfour Michael, Propaganda in War (London: Faber & Faber, 1993), 9.
  • Aristotle Kallis, Nazi Propaganda and the Second World War (London: Palgrave, 2005), 54.
  • Bruce Pauley, Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini: Totalitarianism in the Twentieth Century (New York: Wiley, 2014), 43.
  • Arnold Vincent, The Illusion of Victory: Fascist Propaganda and the Second World War (New York: Peter Lang, 1998), 20.
  • Kenneth Short, Film and Radio Propaganda in World War 2 (London: Croom Helm, 1983), 83.
  • Ivan Sobolev, The Results of the Second World War (Moscow: IIL, 1957), 19.
  • Arnold Vincent, The Illusion of Victory: Fascist Propaganda and the Second World War (New York: Peter Lang, 1998), 55.
  • Martin Herz, “Some Psychological Lessons from Leaflet Propaganda in World War II,” Public Opinion Quarterly 13, no. 3 (1949): 475.
  • Arnold Vincent, The Illusion of Victory: Fascist Propaganda and the Second World War (New York: Peter Lang, 1998), 91.
  • Robert Thurston and Bernd Bonwetsch, The Peoples’ War: Responses to World War II in the Soviet Union (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2003), 39.
  • Andrew Fateev, Image of the Enemy in Soviet Propaganda. 1945-1954 (Moscow: RAN, 1999), 69.
  • Jeffrey Burds, “Sexual Violence in Europe in World War II, 1939-1945,” Politics & Society 37, no. 1 (2009): 50.
  • Willy Peter Reese, A Stranger to Myself. The Inhumanity of War: Russia: 1941-1944 (New York: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 2003). 140.
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The College Study

Essay, Letter , Paragrah , Aplication

Modern War and Its Effects

Essay on Modern War and its Effects

Wars have been fought all through history, and we know about their causes and results. Wars are of different kinds like the common national wars between states, civil wars between parts of the country or nation within itself, and guerrilla wars made up of surprise attacks on occupying or government troops.

Large-scale national wars between countries or nations are not often fought now. We do not find equally strong countries like the US and Russia or Britain and France or Pakistan and India fighting a modern war. Now a much stronger country like the US attacks a weaker country like Vietnam or Iraq or Russia attacks a weaker nation like the Chechens or India attacks the Kashmiris. So wars now are not on the one-to-one basis of equality. The stronger country, however, can destroy at will the poor or weak country after overrunning it for some reasons.

In a modern war, the use of the most destructive weapons is not needed. These weapons are nuclear bombs, ballistic missiles (fired into the air at fixed targets) carrying nuclear warheads, chemical weapons killing thousands and making millions invalid and useless for a living, and other weapons of mass destruction that rich and developed countries possess. If these weapons are used repeatedly, nothing will be left for the winner or conqueror. So the effects of modern war are still limited to the effects of the conventional or traditional weapons that are still used. However, these conventional weapons are the improved ones, much stronger and much more destructive than their older versions (original forms).[the_ad id=”17141″]

The aim of the powerful attacking country is to occupy the attacked country or to control its .natural resources. So, it does not try to destroy its communication system or network, and its buildings: and production centers like factories. The attacks and war, then, become limited and controlled, However, within the conquered country, the limited war against those who oppose and use force against the conquerors continues.

The effects of modern wars and fighting can be seen in Kashmir, Palestine, and Iraq most prominently. India and Pakistan fought limited wars in and outside Kashmir, but they did not destroy Kashmir and each other. Their object was to take or keep Kashmir. Israel does not want to destroy Palestine as she wants to keep it. If the Palestinians agree to accept it, all war can come to an end. America wants to have control over Iraq’s oil and natural resources and is trying to make her submissive. Her war against Iraq could have ended sooner if the Iraqis had accepted America as their lord and master.

Thus, though modern wars can be highly destructive, they are in fact not so as they remain controlled. The UN’s role in keeping modern wars controlled is quite prominent.

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Guest Essay

The Particular Anguish of Being Palestinian in Israel

war and its effects essay

By Raghad Jaraisy and Ofer Dagan

Ms. Jaraisy and Mr. Dagan are co-chief executives of Sikkuy-Aufoq, a nonprofit run by Palestinian and Jewish citizens of Israel working toward an equal and shared society.

As the rest of the world watches the Gaza war with horror, one community is following it with a particular kind of anguish: the Palestinian citizens of Israel.

They are connected by family ties, language, culture and history to their fellow Palestinians in Gaza — while living, working and studying side-by-side with Jewish Israelis in the very country that caused their people’s misfortune.

Palestinian citizens of Israel are no strangers to seeing their country of citizenship bring force to bear on Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, and their own history is rife with systematic discrimination and little recognition of their collective identity. Israel’s war in response to the devastating attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 has led the Israeli government to ratchet up those social, economic and legal pressures, putting an already vulnerable people in an especially thorny place and threatening the fragile links between Jewish and Palestinian citizens.

That is a terrible mistake.

Most of Israel’s two million Palestinian citizens, who make up about 20 percent of the national population, hold on to their Palestinian identity, language and culture. At the same time they speak Hebrew, participate in Israeli politics to varying degrees and are generally acquainted with Jewish and Israeli culture. They hold a unique position, as perhaps the only group that continues to form friendship, partnership and solidarity ties — albeit often flawed and partial — with both the Palestinians across the border and the Jewish citizens of Israel.

That delicate position provides a rare commodity in the region: the ability to see a broader and more nuanced picture and serve as a bridge to a long-lasting solution to the war and the larger conflict. The links between the two groups could be a model for a different future in the area, and a stronger Palestinian voice in Israel could increase the demand for a just and humane resolution to the war, helping both peoples. The Palestinian citizens of Israel are worth listening to.

Many Palestinians in Israel were filled with revulsion on Oct. 7 as Hamas attacked the Israeli towns near the border and murdered and brutalized their inhabitants. They also suffered their own casualties: Seven of the 240 people kidnapped and taken to Gaza were Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, and more than a dozen Palestinian citizens were killed in the Hamas attack or by rockets fired from Gaza since that day.

But unlike a majority of Israel’s citizens, who have for the past four months been glued to an Israeli media that barely covers what is happening in Gaza, Palestinian citizens have learned, with dread and panic, from Arab news sources, friends and social media the enormous toll of death and destruction suffered by their people.

Despite the violent history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, they’ve been aghast at the deep humanitarian crisis, the starvation of Gazans and the forced displacement of over a million people that evoked the Nakba, or catastrophe — the mass flight and expulsion of Palestinians when Israel became a state.

The trauma has been compounded by their inability to do or even say much about it. The government has cracked down harshly on criticism of its actions, and even empathy with the Palestinian people in Gaza. Palestinian citizens of Israel have borne the brunt of the crackdown.

A Palestinian doctor was suspended from his position, Palestinian students at colleges and universities have been punished , and other people have been arrested for social media posts that were often simply misunderstood by those who don’t speak Arabic.

Well before the war, Palestinian citizens of Israel had to deal with discrimination — lesser government services for education, welfare, housing and culture, along with a campaign against their collective identity. Now the silencing of dissent has had a significant impact not only on the psyches of Palestinian citizens, who worry that even liking a social media post will put them in a cell, but also on their economic well-being.

Since Oct. 7, their unemployment rate has tripled to 15.6 percent largely because of firings for political reasons, boycotts and downturns in sectors with a large proportion of Palestinian Israeli workers. The increase for Jewish Israelis was milder — slightly more than doubling to just over 8.6 percent.

The government is also attempting to cut the very budgets dedicated to the development of Palestinian citizens. The war is estimated to have cost Israel nearly $60 billion in the first three months — an expense so extreme that the Moody’s rating agency recently downgraded Israel’s credit rating .

In an effort to minimize further economic damage, Israel has increased its deficit and is pushing major budget cuts through Parliament. These include cuts across the board, but the board isn’t flat. Reductions to funding directed to Palestinian citizens are slated to be three times higher than the rest — 15 percent compared with 5 percent. Through these budget cuts the Palestinians in Israel are effectively paying a disproportionate cost of the war against fellow Palestinians.

This hurts the entire Israeli economy. International institutions such as the O.E.C.D. , as well as the Bank of Israel, have warned that without serious investment in the economic development of the large Palestinian community in Israel, the economy could suffer. The plans now threatened to be cut actually work. Over the past few years the employment rate of Palestinian women increased to approximately 45 percent in the second half of 2023 from 33 percent in 2014.

The hostile environment has also worsened the relationship between Jewish and Palestinian citizens, raising fears of a return to the violence in mixed Arab-Jewish cities in Israel of nearly three years ago . Israel’s right-wing government has also begun making it easier for Jewish citizens to acquire weapons .

Rather than isolating and weakening the Palestinian citizens of Israel, marking them as the “enemy within” through repressive tactics, the Israeli government must remove discriminatory policies against them and stop fighting recognition of their Palestinian identity.

Doing so would create a model of what equal partnership between Palestinian and Jewish Israelis could look like, one that would signify a significant step toward reconciliation and an end to the cycle of violence.

Raghad Jaraisy and Ofer Dagan are co-chief executives of Sikkuy-Aufoq, a nonprofit run by Palestinian and Jewish citizens of Israel working to create a more equal and shared society.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

Follow the New York Times Opinion section on Facebook , Instagram , TikTok , X and Threads .

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