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Neo warfare
The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Fri, 08/10/2007 1:01 PM | Opinion
In our world, there are lots of countries, nations, languages, religions and cultures -- but also a lot of disagreements. There has not been peace and respect among nations since the formation of the first state.
From the beginning of the first conflict until today, wars have been fought for the same cause: political differences, trade, religion, liberation, dynasty, seizure of territory, the annihilation of a rival state, the destruction of the enemy's ability to prosecute military action, revolution or genocide.
It seems mankind is yet to learn from the centuries of fighting and conflicts. There are 32 ongoing wars around the world, including those in Sri Lanka, Chechen, Afghanistan, Cote d'Ivoire, Central Africa, Iraq, Somalia, and Arab-Israel/Israel-Palestine.
Very soon the world will be without the so-called third world countries, and without territories to start wars. Would that signal the end of wars, or usher in a new form of modern warfare into the world?
According to these facts and the enormous velocity and evolution of the world, in the future we can expect more wars; wars that will be fought between industrialized countries.
The question which then arises is: which country will first start that war and on which grounds will it begin? It is very hard to predict, but as before, it will most probably begin in Europe and not in the Middle East as many would think.
The European Union (EU) is, financially, the strongest and one of the biggest multiethnic and multicultural communities in the world. But because of too many differences and the inability of some members to agree on future political and financial issues, the EU may become unstable and, eventually, collapse. Since the EU has an enormous influence over many countries, its collapse would start a chain of destabilization and a race for domination. It looks like history will repeat itself, only it will cost more.
Contrary to this, the main goal of every country should be to preserve national identity, culture, religion, and, of course, financial development, but as long as we have political differences and disrespect for other religions and cultures we will not have peace among nations. If we put these differences aside and focus on helping each other, perhaps there will be a chance of maintaining stability in the world.
The time will come when all countries will be united for a greater and peaceful goal, but that may come rather too late, though it will foster a degree of unity and understanding.
IVAN SIMIC
Belgrade, Serbia
