Why Wars Happen

In the early months of 1998, renewed fighting in Afghanistan led to further deaths, suffering and mass movements of refugees. Famine in southern Sudan was exacerbated by war, there was renewed fighting in Sierra Leone, further tension in Israel and Palestine, unrest in Mexico, a near revolution in Indonesia and a surge of conflict in Kosovo. At least another dozen or so conflicts carried on sporadically and only in Northern Ireland was there possible progress towards peace. A similar record could be assembled for any six-month period since the ending of the Cold War, reminding us, if nothing else, of the enduring nature of war.