Understanding Violent Political Conflict

This chapter traces the roots of conflict in the development of the modern international states system, since it is the state which is the focus of contemporary violent political conflicts. It pays close attention to the ideology of nationalism and its claim that nations exist and they have exclusive rights to territorial states. Then, the chapter discusses potential ways to classify conflicts and debates regarding types of violent political conflicts. Next, it reviews the general contours of the conditions, development, and impact of violent political conflicts.