Routledge Companion to Military Conflict since 1945 (Routledge Companions)

329 Pages·2008·1.86 MB·English

by  John Richard Thackrah

T R C
he ouTledge ompanion To
miliTaRy ConfliCT sinCe 1945
This book is a comprehensive and authoritative guide to human conflict since
the end of the Second World War. Arranged in an easy to use A to Z format,
topics covered include:
• wars and campaigns from the Korean War to Rwanda and Iraq
• concepts such as terrorism, nationalism and democracy
• international treaties and institutions.
Fully cross-referenced throughout, with guides to further reading and a list of
key acronyms, The Routledge Companion to Military Conflict since 1945 is an
indispensable reference guide to war and peace in the twentieth and twenty-first
centuries.
John Richard Thackrah has written books and articles on twentieth century
history and politics. He has worked in tertiary education, lecturing on military
history and conflict. His previous books for Routledge have been an Encyclopaedia
of Terrorism and Political Violence and a Dictionary of Terrorism.
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T R C
he ouTledge ompanion
m C
To iliTaRy onfliCT

sinCe 1945
John Richard Thackrah
First published 2009
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY10016
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2008.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2009 John Richard Thackrah
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested

ISBN 0-203-01470-7 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN10: 0–415–36353–5 (hbk)
ISBN10: 0–415–36354–3 (pbk)
ISBN10: 0–203–01470–7 (ebk)
ISBN13: 978–0–415–36353–2 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978–0–415–36354–9 (pbk)
ISBN13: 978–0–203–01470–7 (ebk)
C
onTenTs
Introduction and acknowledgements vii
Acronyms x
Glossary xii
Conceptual map xiv
Key concepts xviii
Places and regions xx
Countries – specific entries xxi
Conflict: some key statistics xxii
A to Z: Names and terms 1
Websites 276
Chronology of main events 277
Index 284

v

i
nTRoduCTion and
aCknowledgemenTs
‘Conflict’ is a word that has a variety of definitions covering a range of experi-
ences and issues. Perhaps this is one obvious reason why agreement on resolving
conflicts can be elusive. Root causes of conflict, such as poverty or disease,
remain largely untreated.
Apart from disagreements on definitions, problems also arise over statistical
evidence, as witnessed in the Cold War when people argued about the number
of warheads on rockets or the types of planes and ships that NATO and the
Warsaw Pact could use. The costs of weapons systems cause other differing
perspectives, as well as the numbers involved in conflict – civilians, military and
the numbers of dead and injured. Ultimately, people may ask ‘When is a conflict
not a conflict?’
Personalities make or break conflicts, and all types of conflict behaviour issue
first from their leaders’ minds: the suspicions and paranoias of dictators such
as Stalin, Pol Pot and Kim Il Sung, or fears about the resurgence of global
anti-Semitism and fascism. Peace overtures in areas where conflicts appear
intractable, such as Kashmir and Palestine, have foundered and others, such as
Northern Ireland, Guatemala and Sudan, have shakily succeeded only after
decades of hesitant peacemaking.
Often these interminable problems arise as a result of minority issues,
especially the overlap between split minorities and disputed frontiers, which has
spawned disorder most n otably in former Yugoslavia and the Middle East.
Another cause of conflict is control of resources such as coal, oil and water. This
was true throughout the Cold War and still is in the period of the New World
Order, which again as a term in international relations is hotly contested. One
area of potential conflict that has become less important since the 1990s is outer
space, because of the Soviet collapse and the enormous costs involved. Weaponry
has moved on to the general use of missiles and rockets (born out of the V1 and
V2 missiles of the Second World War) and more recently to weapons of mass
destruction.
Politicians and governments may get more kudos from military conflict than
from ordinary domestic issues. People and organisations rarely keep to treaties
and alliances, obligations and commitments. In some cases they are stymied by
issues such as international terrorism, Islamic fundamentalism, rogue states and
environmental factors, such as control of resources – oil, water, natural gas, and
plutonium – on land and under the sea. Maritime boundaries can be just as
contentious as land frontiers. Wilderness politics has become more noticeable in
vii
introduction and acknowledgements
recent years – for example, in the Arctic, Antarctic and Siberia. Dealing with
pandemics such as AIDS, SARS and bird flu can cause rivalries to come to
the fore.
In 1945, superpowers were created with the birth of the nuclear age, and great
powers and ordinary powers have to live side by side. One superpower has frag-
mented – the Soviet Union – but others wish to take their place. China is the
logical heir to the title, but this could take some time. Many tensions have existed
within and around its borders and have the potential to do so again.
Globalisation, it is argued, has made the world a safer place but many would
argue that states are controlled increasingly by international organisations or
multinational companies. The global village is a far cry from a world carved up
by colonial powers or ideologically motivated ones. Yet many in the UN, EU,
OAU and OAS argue that such organisations could do more to maintain world
peace. The world has definitely moved on from being Eurocentric to being
polycentric.
New states have proliferated and many see themselves as neutral or perhaps
non-aligned with the increasingly free diplomacy since the end of the Cold War.
Legal issues have to prevail, to formally end conflicts. Some would ask if military
conflict is just, or has it been superseded by diplomatic, economic and political
conflict?
The shadows of fascism and anti-Semitism, the persecution of religious
groups, ethnic rivalries and genocide – which have coloured so many conflicts
throughout history – all still exist. The capacity for great evil lies undiminished.
The great expanse of military conflict over the past six decades shows clearly the
dangers of excessive patriotism and nationalism. The suspension of human
rights, even in democratic countries, on its own does not lead to the ending of
conflict. The totalitarian temptation is always there.
I should like to thank the following libraries for their help with research and
finding resources from th eir vast repositories on this topic, especially David
Orgill, the Chief Librarian at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst; John
Montgomery, librarian at the Royal United Services Institute Library, London;
the Maughan Library and Information Services Centre, Kings College,
Unfiversfity of London; the Brotherton Lfibrary, ; the Prfince
Consort Library, Aldershot; the Merrill Library, University of York; the Library
of the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, London; the
Library of the International Institute of Strategic Studies, London and Whitby
Library. A book of this type and scope in part derives from the original work
done by others. This is evident from the bibliographies and references but I
would like to acknowledge my debt to staff at various universities I have attended
– Leeds, London, Reading and Sheffield – who have contributed in seminars,
lectures and discussions to what is examined in this book. The same acknowl-
edgements apply to those staff and students who have helped on courses run by
myself at universities, residential adult colleges and staff colleges. In sum, the
book owes much to many people.
viii
introduction and acknowledgements
This companion (a compendium, guidebook or handbook) will be of use as a
general reference tool for A-level students, first-year undergraduates studying
International Relations, History, Strategic/War Studies, Peace and Conflict
Studies, and Politics, and those in the Police and Armed Forces who have to
have an awareness of the background causes, progression and repercussions of
many conflicts. Indeed there are overlaps into many subject areas – geography,
politics, economics, sociology, philosophy, psychology, war studies and history.
A reference book like this can only give a bitesize taster of each topic, so stu-
dents are advised to use the bibliographies and further reading to help with their
studies in more detail.
The work will examine wars and conflicts, incidents, international treaties and
alliances, and the future possibilities of peace, mediation and negotiation.
Obviously, choices of conflict had to be made, given the constraints of the length
of the work, and the author is entirely responsible for the choices made. Conflicts
chosen are those that have had an impact or repercussion not only in their
countries of origin, but regionally and globally. There is a glossary, chronology, a
list of acronyms, a conceptual map and list of key concepts. Most entries have
references and/or further reading and readers are encouraged to explore these
and find further references of interest to expand their knowledge. Items marked
in bold are cross-references to specific entries on that topic. Other cross-
references appear after ‘See also’ at the end of an entry. The entries generally
cover events up to early 2008.
Terrorism’s close relationship with military conflict is obvious and is treated
here, but the reader is asked to look at the author’s Dictionary on Terrorism
(2nd edition, 2004), also published by Routledge, for more detailed coverage of
11 September 2001. For more general reference, I recommend Philip’s Guide
to the State of the World (2004), published by Philip’s (a division of Osprey);
an annual publication, The World Guide, 11th Edition (2007) published by
New Internationalist, Oxf ord; and the free online encyclopaedia, Wikipedia,
published by the Wikimedia Foundation of St Petersburg, Florida.
I should like to thank Rosie Waters, Commissioning Editor, and David Avital,
Acting Commissioning Editor, of Routledge Classics and Student Reference for
their help and advice. I am indebted to Peter Cooper of Whitby for placing the
entire work in computerised form, checking the draft for inconsistencies and
making various helpful suggestions. Gerard M-F Hill of Much Better Text has
completed a thoroughly professional task of preparing this work for publication,
for which I am most grateful. Richard Cook of Book Now Publishing Services
has done considerable work on organising the typesetting.
Finally I am grateful for the constant encouragement of my friends, my
mother and my late father, without whose support this work would not have been
possible.
John Richard Thackrah
Whitby, North Yorkshire
August 2008
ix