War is a state
of prolonged violent, large-scale conflict involving two or more
groups of people. Wars may be prosecuted simultaneously in one or
more different theaters. Within each theater, there may be one or
more consecutive military campaigns. Individual actions of war within
a specific campaign are traditionally called battles, although this
terminology is not always applied to contentions involving aircraft,
missiles or bombs alone in the absence of ground troops or naval
forces.
The factors leading to war are often complicated and due to a range of issues. Where disputes arise over issues such as territory, sovereignty, resource, or ideology, and if a peaceable resolution fails, is not sought, or is thwarted, war often results. In War Before Civilization, Lawrence H. Keeley, a professor at the University of Illinois, calculates that approximately 90-95% of known societies engaged in at least occasional warfare, and many fought constantly. A war may begin following an official declaration of war in the case of international war, although this has not always been observed either historically or currently, nor in the case of civil wars. A declaration of war is not normally made in internal wars. |
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