Outline of war


The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to war:
War – organised and often prolonged armed conflict that is carried out by states or non-state actors – is characterised by extreme violence, social disruption, and economic destruction. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political communities, and therefore is defined as a form of political violence or intervention. Warfare refers to the common activities and characteristics of types of war, or of wars in general.

Types of war

Types of warfare

Warfare by terrain

Warfare by equipment or weapon type

Warfare by era

Warfare by stages

Other

Warfare by era

''See: Warfare by era''

Wars

Wars by death toll

Wars by region

Wars by type of conflict

Battles

Operational level of war

Types of military operations, by scope:

Politics of war

  • Casus belli – Latin expression meaning the justification for acts of war. In theory, present international law allows only three situations as legal cause to go to war: out of self-defense, defense of an ally under a mutual defense pact, or sanctioned by the UN.
  • Declaration of war
  • Surrender
  • * Capitulation an agreement in time of war for the surrender to a hostile armed force of a particular body of troops, a town or a territory.
  • * Strategic surrender – surrender to avoid a last, chaotic round of fighting that would have the characteristics of a rout, allowing the victor to obtain his objective without paying the costs of a last battle.
  • * Unconditional surrender – surrender without conditions, except for those provided by international law.
  • Victory
  • * Debellatio – when a war ends because of the complete destruction of a belligerent state.
  • * No quarter – when a victor shows no clemency or mercy and refuses to spare the life of the vanquished when they surrender at discretion. Under the laws of war "... it is especially forbidden... to declare that no quarter will be given".
  • * Pyrrhic victory – victory with such a devastating cost that it carries the implication that another such victory will ultimately lead to defeat.
  • War effort
  • War economy

    Philosophy of war

– examines war beyond the typical questions of weaponry and strategy, inquiring into such things as the meaning and etiology of war, the relationship between war and human nature, and the ethics of war.
  • Militarism – belief that war is not inherently bad but can be a beneficial aspect of society.
  • Realism – its core proposition is a skepticism as to whether moral concepts such as justice can be applied to the conduct of international affairs. Proponents of realism believe that moral concepts should never prescribe, nor circumscribe, a state's behaviour. Instead, a state should place an emphasis on state security and self-interest. One form of realism – descriptive realism – proposes that states cannot act morally, while another form – prescriptive realism – argues that the motivating factor for a state is self-interest. Just wars that violate Just Wars principles effectively constitute a branch of realism.
  • Revolution and Civil War – Just War Theory states that a just war must have just authority. To the extent that this is interpreted as a legitimate government, this leaves little room for revolutionary war or civil war, in which an illegitimate entity may declare war for reasons that fit the remaining criteria of Just War Theory. This is less of a problem if the "just authority" is widely interpreted as "the will of the people" or similar. Article 3 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions side-steps this issue by stating that if one of the parties to a civil war is a High Contracting Party both Parties to the conflict are bound "as a minimum, the following provisions." Article 4 of the Third Geneva Convention also makes clear that the treatment of prisoners of war is binding on both parties even when captured soldiers have an "allegiance to a government or an authority not recognized by the Detaining Power."
  • Consequentialism – moral theory most frequently summarized in the words "the end justifies the means," which tends to support the just war theory.
  • Pacifism – belief that war of any kind is morally unacceptable or pragmatically not worth the cost. Pacifists extend humanitarian concern not just to enemy civilians but also to combatants, especially conscripts. For example, Ben Salmon believed all war to be unjust. He was sentenced to death during World War I for desertion and spreading propaganda.
  • Right of self-defence – maintains that the use of retaliatory force is justified against repressive nations that break the zero aggression principle. In addition, if a free country is itself subject to foreign aggression, it is morally imperative for that nation to defend itself and its citizens by whatever means necessary. Thus, any means to achieve a swift and complete victory over the enemy is imperative. This view is prominently held by Objectivists.

    Laws of war

  • Laws of war
  • War crimes
  • * List of war crimes

    Prisoners of war

Effects of war

War-related media

War publications

  • The Art of War
  • ''On War''

    War films

  • List of war films and TV specials – lists movies and shows by the war depicted in them, the sections arranged chronologically

    Persons influential in war

  • List of military writers

    Inventors of Military Technology

  • Mozi
  • Archimedes
  • Wei Boyang
  • Kallinikos
  • Roger Bacon
  • Leonardo da Vinci
  • Richard Jordan Gatling
  • Mikhail Kalashnikov
  • Albert Einstein

    During the Classical Period

''Listed by date of approximate lifetime''

Ancient Egypt">Military of ancient Egypt">Ancient Egypt