Conflict, Culture and History: Regional Dimensions

Conflict, Culture and History: Regional Dimensionsseis^TsssE^
Stephen J, Blank iQwrence B. Gnnter Eerl P. Magyar L«wiaB-Ware Bynum E. Wealbera
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1. REPORT DATE JAN 1993
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4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Conflict, Culture, and History: Regional Dimensions
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6. AUTHOR(S) Stephen J. Blank; Lawrence E. Grinter; Karl P. Magyar; Lewis B . Ware; Bynum E . Weathers
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Conflict, Culture, and History Regional Dimensions
by
Bynum E . Weathers
January 1993
by
Bynum E. Weathers
Air University Press
January 1993
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Conflict, culture, and history : regional dimensions / by Stephen J. Blank . . . [et al .]
p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1 . War. 2. War and society. 3. Ethnic relations. I. Blank, Stephen, 1950- U21.2.C645 1993,;-~ 303.6-dc20
ISBN 1-58566-043-4
First Printing January 1993 Second Printing June 1996 Third Printing January 1998 Fourth Printing March 1999 Fifth Printing December 2000 Sixth Printing March 2001
Seventh Printing September 2002
92-40526 CIP
This publication was produced in the Department of Defense school environment in the inter- est of academic freedomand the advancement of national defense-related concepts . The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the United States government .
This publication has been reviewed by security and policy review authorities and is cleared for public release.
For Sale by the Superintendent of Documents US Government Printing Office
Washington, D.C . 20402
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Pnblication Data
Conflict, culture, and history : regional dimensions / by Stephen J. Blank . . . [et al.l
p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. War. 2. War and society. 3. Ethnic relations. 1. Blank, Stephen, 1950- Xh U21.2.C645 1993f>?:S 92-40526 303.6-dc20 ' '•:" CIP
ISBN 1-58566-043-4
Seventh Printing September 2002
Disclaimer
This publication was produced in the Department of Defense school environment in the inter- est of academic freedom and the advancement of national defense-related concepts. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the United States government.
This publication has been reviewed by security and policy review authorities and is cleared for public release.
For Sale by the Superintendent of Documents US Government Printing Office
Washington, D.C. 20402
VII PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IX ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X111
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XV CLASS WAR ONA GLOBAL SCALE : THE LENINIST CULTURE OF POLITICAL CONFLICT- Dr Stephen J. Blank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1
3 Lenin's Revolutionary Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
16 Some Global Implications of the Brezhnev Doctrine . . .
28 Leninism as Permanent Low-Intensity Conflict . . . . . . . .
39 New Thinking and the Crisis of Leninism . . . . . . . . . . . .
42 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
AN ISLAMIC CONCEPT OF CONFLICT IN ITS HISTORICAL CONTEXT-Dr Lewis B . Ware . . . . . . . . .
57 The Evolution of an Islamic Concept of Conflict . . . . . .
61 The Varieties of Islamist Jihad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
76 Some Observations on Jewish Fundamentalism . . . . . . .
96 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Contents
Page
PREFACE IX
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS XIII
INTRODUCTION XV
CLASS WAR ON A GLOBAL SCALE: THE LENINIST CULTURE OF POLITICAL CONFLICT— Dr Stephen J. Blank 1
Erosion of the Nation-State System 3 Lenin's Revolutionary Approach 8 The Conceptual Realignment of International Politics .. 16 Some Global Implications of the Brezhnev Doctrine ... 28 Leninism as Permanent Low-Intensity Conflict 39 New Thinking and the Crisis of Leninism 42 Conclusions 49 Notes 51
AN ISLAMIC CONCEPT OF CONFLICT IN ITS HISTORICAL CONTEXT—Dr Lewis B. Ware 57
The Evolution of an Islamic Concept of Conflict 61 The Varieties of Islamist Jihad 76 Some Observations on Jewish Fundamentalism 96 Conclusions 106 Notes Ill
III
Page
CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL INFLUENCES ON CONFLICT IN SINIC ASIA : CHINA, JAPAN, AND VIETNAM-Dr Lawrence E . Grinter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
117 China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Vietnam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
CULTURE AND CONFLICT IN LATIN AMERICA: MYTH OR REALITY?-Dr Bynum E. Weathers . . . . . . . 193
The Iberian Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206 Development and Modernization Practices : The Twentieth Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
210 The Cold War and the Communist Challenge to Hegemony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Low-Intensity Conflict . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
CULTURE AND CONFLICT IN AFRICA'S HISTORY: THE TRANSITION TO THE MODERNERA- Dr Karl P. Magyar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
229 Africa's Conflict Environment : The Analytical
Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231 Africa's Conflict Environment : The Evolutionary
Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243 The Historical Legacy in Africa's Contemporary
Conflicts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256 Conflict in Africa : American Policy Implications . . . . . . 282 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
IV
Page
CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL INFLUENCES ON CONFLICT IN SINIC ASIA: CHINA, JAPAN, AND VIETNAM—Dr Lawrence E. Grinter 117
China 119 Japan 148 Vietnam 161 Conclusions 180 Notes 186
CULTURE AND CONFLICT IN LATIN AMERICA: MYTH OR REALITY?—Dr Bynum E. Weathers 193
The Iberian Connection 194 Conquest of the Indies 197 Colonial Society 202 Formation of the Nation-States: The Nineteenth
Century 206 Development and Modernization Practices:
The Twentieth Century 210 The Cold War and the Communist Challenge to
Hegemony 218 Low-Intensity Conflict 220 Conclusions 222 Notes 224
CULTURE AND CONFLICT IN AFRICA'S HISTORY: THE TRANSITION TO THE MODERN ERA— Dr Karl P. Magyar 229
Africa's Conflict Environment: The Analytical Context 231
Africa's Conflict Environment: The Evolutionary Context 243
The Historical Legacy in Africa's Contemporary Conflicts 256
Conflict in Africa: American Policy Implications 282 Notes 289
INDEX 295
IV
Foreword
The essays presented in this volume suggest that, in the foreseeable future, the spectrum of conflict will encompass war in forms and on levels of intensity that render ineffectual conventional means to resolve them . In many cases, the reasons for a growing spectrum of conflict are directly related to the ideological and civilizational factors present in rapidly evolving cultures under the impact of internal and external political, economic, and social forces .
For the Soviet Union such conflict takes the form of the classical problem of disaffected minorities unable to satisfy their demands for autonomy within a federated structure without destroying the structure itself . On the other hand, in the Far East the cultures that underlie Sinic societies are well meshed with the state . The majority of Middle Eastern political communities, founded on the Western concept of the nation-state, coexist tenuously with a politicized religious culture ready at any moment to wage war against them in the name of extirpating their secular European roots.
Although Africa leads the world in the number of prolonged struggles, there is little evidence that such conflicts are motivated by the war-like African cultures . What most prolonged conflicts in Africa share in common is the degree of external intervention, whether such intervention comes in the form of funds, weapons, training, refuge, or leadership . In the contemporary era Latin American conflicts have been fueled by external ideologies rather than by purely internal cultural tensions . Negotiations, mediation, arbitration, and conciliation have been the hallmark of Latin American foreign policy initiatives for nearly two centuries .
As diverse as their approaches to the issue of culture and conflict may be, the authors all agree on one important point : that without basic research into the sociocultural causes of
Foreword
The essays presented in this volume suggest that, in the foreseeable future, the spectrum of conflict will encompass war in forms and on levels of intensity that render ineffectual conventional means to resolve them. In many cases, the reasons for a growing spectrum of conflict are directly related to the ideological and civilizational factors present in rapidly evolving cultures under the impact of internal and external pohtical, economic, and social forces.
For the Soviet Union such conflict takes the form of the classical problem of disaffected minorities unable to satisfy their demands for autonomy within a federated structure without destroying the structure itself. On the other hand, in the Far East the cultures that underlie Sinic societies are well meshed with the state. The majority of Middle Eastern political communities, founded on the Western concept of the nation-state, coexist tenuously with a politicized religious culture ready at any moment to wage war against them in the name of extirpating their secular European roots.
Although Africa leads the world in the number of prolonged struggles, there is little evidence that such conflicts are motivated by the war-like African cultures. What most prolonged conflicts in Africa share in common is the degree of external intervention, whether such intervention comes in the form of funds, weapons, training, refuge, or leadership. In the contemporary era Latin American conflicts have been fueled by external ideologies rather than by purely internal cultural tensions. Negotiations, mediation, arbitration, and conciliation have been the hallmark of Latin American foreign policy initiatives for nearly two centuries.
As diverse as their approaches to the issue of culture and conflict may be, the authors all agree on one important point: that without basic research into the sociocultural causes of
strife, the understanding of what constitutes the spectrum of conflict will fail to include the kinds of war that we may expect to see in the foreseeable future . And this cannot help but affect adversely the development of political and military means for their solution .
strife, the understanding of what constitutes the spectrum of conflict will fail to include the kinds of war that we may expect to see in the foreseeable future. And this cannot help but affect adversely the development of pohtical and military means for their solution.
VI
About the Authors
Dr Stephen J. Blank is an analyst with the Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, and a former associate professor of Soviet studies in the Political-Military Affairs Division, Airpower Research Institute (ARI), at Air University Center for Aerospace Doctrine, Research, and Education (AUCADRE), Maxwell AFB, Alabama. He has been an assistant professor of Russian and Soviet history at the University of Texas, San Antonio, and a visiting assistant professor of Russian history at the University of California, Riverside . He serves as a consultant on Soviet affairs to GE TEMPO (a General Electric think tank) and the Center for Strategic Technology at Texas A&M University . He has published many articles on Soviet nationality policy, foreign policies, and, more recently, military policy . Dr Blank is completing a manuscript on the first years of Soviet nationality policy and the Commissariat of Nationalities under Joseph Stalin . Dr Lawrence E . Grinter is professor of Asian studies in the
Political-Military Affairs Division of ARI. A former faculty member of the National War College and the Air War College, Dr Grinter has published widely in his field, including Asian-Pacific Security : Emerging Challenges and Responses (1986, coeditor) and East Asian Conflict Zones : Prospects for Deescalation and Stability (1987, coeditor) ; and he has undertaken numerous studies for the National Security Council and the Office of the Secretary of Defense . Dr Karl P. Magyar, associate professor of African studies in
the Political-Military Affairs Division of ARI, came to AUCADRE directly from South Africa . He taught at the University of Witwatersrand and the University of Durban-Westville-where he headed the Division of Political Science . Dr Magyar also served as economic adviser to the
About the Authors
Dr Stephen J. Blank is an analyst with tlie Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, and a former associate professor of Soviet studies in the Political-Military Affairs Division, Airpower Research Institute (ARI), at Air University Center for Aerospace Doctrine, Research, and Education (AUCADRE), Maxwell AFB, Alabama. He has been an assistant professor of Russian and Soviet history at the University of Texas, San Antonio, and a visiting assistant professor of Russian history at the University of California, Riverside. He serves as a consultant on Soviet affairs to GE TEMPO (a General Electric think tank) and the Center for Strategic Technology at Texas A&M University. He has published many articles on Soviet nationality policy, foreign policies, and, more recently, military pohcy. Dr Blank is completing a manuscript on the first years of Soviet nationality policy and the Commissariat of Nationalities under Joseph Stalin.
Dr Lawrence E. Grinter is professor of Asian studies in the Political-Military Affairs Division of ARI. A former faculty member of the National War College and the Air War…