Muslims seems to be
included in all major conflicts in our global civilization today. At the
end of the 1900's there was still some conflicts without islamic involvment (in
the Basque Country, Ireland and Sri Lanka). These non-muslim conflicts have now
ceased.
The question is WHY? What is it that causes Muslims to create conflicts?
An article in SvD Business conveys the
following GOOD NEWS
The number of war and casualties in war has declined remarkably since WW2:
Trade prevents war
Since 1950, wars between countries have
become ever fewer on Earth. The reason, according to a new study, is the
growing trade between countries.
The researchers behind the study,
economists Matthew Jackson and Stephen Nei at Stanford University in
California, USA, have examined developments in the world after the Napoleonic
Wars, i.e. from 1816 onwards.
They noticed that a
dramatic change took place after the Second World War. Since then, the number
of independent countries on have earth tripled, but they go less frequently to
war with each other. The number of deadly conflicts 1950-2000 was only a tenth
as many as during the period 1816-1949.
The number of
people who have died in wars between countries has also dropped dramatically,
from a half million in 1950 during the Korean War, to almost none at all in the
2000s. Since 2003, when the US invaded Iraq, there have been practically no
wars between States in the world.
It does not mean that war has ceased in
the world. But today almost all the deadly conflicts are civil wars, or civil
wars with more or less pronounced foreign interference. The conflict in Syria
is a recent example.
Many people may
think that the intervention of Western powers in Libya in 2011 was an outright
act of war against the Libyan state, but by definition it was a matter of
ongoing civil war. It does not count as a war between countries.
The question is why the latter wars, the intergovernmental
conflicts, have almost disappeared. The answer is maybe not what you would
expect. The most important factor, according to the study, was growing
international trade.
Between 1950 and 2012 the export share of
national GDP increased from 7 to 25 percent. In addition, the number of trading
partners has grown tremendously. The latter is at least as important as the overall
level of trade.
Before WW1, trade was certainly
considerable, but the number of trading countries were very small - Europe, the
US and some others.
Today, trade between countries is
considerable, and different forms of trade agreements, trade unions and trade
alliances have sprung up like mushrooms.
According to their analysis, countries
with extensive trading are closely linked to peaceful relations with its
closest allies. They also have been less likely to go to war at all, including
those countries that they used to have ideological conflicts with.
Since 1945, military alliances have been
far more lasting, partly an effect of the world after WW2 changing from being
multipolar with several different power blocks to be bipolar, with only two
major power blocs, NATO and the Warsaw Pact.
This was combined with the nuclear weapons
deterrent has had a dampening effect on war. But this is not a sufficient
explanation. Without comprehensive trading the postwar period would maybe had
turned into a period with many more deadly conflict than has been the case.
Roland Johansson
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