world warII

 
 
 
 
WORD WAR II
 
RUTH M. MUMITA
 
THIKA ROAD UNIVERSITY
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Second World War or the World War II is considered as the most diverse war in history since it involved most nations in the world. It started in the 1939 and ended in1945.  On September 1st 1939, Poland was invaded by Germany. Germany wanted to conquer Lebensraum which was under Poland, and as a result, France declared war on Germany with the support of Britain. This led to countries that supported either of their enemy, fighting against each other. In general, the war was caused by some states feeling superior to others, and the need to take control over states they deemed as easy to conquer. This caused the superior power using coercion to reach their goal, if the easy prey resisted.
The war started in Europe but spread gradually to other continents (Asia, Africa, the Americas) due to quest for more resources to gain more security.
According to Evera (1999), false optimism is one of the causes of war. He further elaborates that, since governments underestimate the effects and depreciation of resources as a result of war, they use up all their resources and manpower. This leads to a point when resources diminish and those state that had withheld take advantage of their vulnerability. In reference to the Second World War, this scenario occurred when the conflicting states used all their resources and manpower to conquer other states and to protect their states from being attacked. For instance when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, they wanted to take the opportunity before U.S regained its power back, hence demobilizing U.S defense.
Evera (1999) identifies that, when a state develops advanced security procedures, other states will feel insecure, for they cannot match up to their enemys status. They seek allies or vulnerable states to dominate. The quest to conquer more territories that have resources will help the insecure state to reach its enemies status, but the powerful state will strive to maintain its status quo.   However, during the Second World War, states that wanted to expand their territories fought if they had interest on the same state.
Evera (1999) argues that, resources can cause war if powerful states would want to utilize and control these resources to their advantage. With reference to the Second World War, raw materials in Asia caused conflicts between Japan and European super powers which dominated them. United States and Japan fought for both sought to dominate over more territories in Asia.
Evera (1999) notes that, though the conquest seems easy to the powerful state, there is bound to be resistance. More so, resistance is evident if the easy prey feels insecure due to power states quest to take over. This resistant leads to use of force by the power states, and war thrives from this force- resistance factor.
Another cause of war observed by Evera (1999) is due powerful states failure to live up to agreements. World War II started when Germany failed to honor an agreement to cease from attacking Poland, therefore France and Britain declared war on Germany.
Future wars could be triggered by powerful states seeking opportunities in other territories that seem easy to conquer, hence aggregating other states with the same motive. Finally, states failing to honor agreements that govern particular policies could lead to war, especially if failure to do so causes insecurity to the other states.
 
 
 
 
Reference
Evera, S. (1999). Causes of War: power and the root of conflicts. New York: Cornell University Press.