TYPES OF WAR

CLASSIFYING WARS

• The main traditional way of classification is to consider the weapons used in war

• Since 1945, war has either been nuclear or conventional

• A better way to classify wars is to consider many factors, such as the type of armed forces involved, the kind of battle, and the size and goals of the war

LIMITED WAR• Short and restricted to a small area• Does not significantly involve the civilian

population• An attempt to achieve specific, immediate goals• The earliest wars were all limited• Modern Examples: Vietnam and Gulf War

TOTAL WAR• Is fought to attain many goals

• Longer than a limited war

• Affects everyone in the nations involved

• Civilians play an active role in total war, being part of the war machine

• Often results in the complete destruction of the losing side

• Example: The two World Wars

CIVIL WAR• Opponents within one country fight each other

for political control of their country• Conflicts and emotions that cause civil wars are

often complex and long-lasting• Never really end• Example: Rwandan Genocide, Darfur

COLD WAR and HOT WAR• Hot War: opponents openly fight in limited or

total wars• Cold War: combatants try to achieve long-term

goals without confronting each other directly• Technology has aided in the advent and carrying

out of Cold Wars• Cold Wars take the form of Economic or

Ideological

COVERT WAR• Secret War between governments• Governments try to hide the goals, financing,

and planning of the war, and sometimes the war itself is hidden from other countries and even their own citizens

• Reasons for keeping it secret range from ease of success and economics to citizen approval

• Example: U.S. backed Contra War in Nicaragua

TERRORIST WAR• Struggle in which a group of armed civilians

uses sporadic violence to achieve political goals• Violence includes bombings, shootings,

robberies, beatings, and hijacking• Terrorists try to create a situation in which the

enemy population lives in constant fear of violence

GUERILLA WAR• Armed civilians fight a state army to achieve

political goals• Tactics include cutting communication and

transportation lines, blowing up supply bases, poisoning wells, laying booby traps, and sniping at patrols rather than fighting battles

• These tactics are used because they know they cannot win an open limited war

• Example: Cuba (1959), Nicaragua (1979)