Violent Conflict Causes

Poon Wynne Hsing (20) 403 IH Essay 2

There are many causes of tension between parties that lead to violent conflict. In this essay, we will be looking at different beliefs as a cause of violent conflict. For the sake of clarity, beliefs is defined as different ideologies, and violent conflict is at least two parties using physical force to resolve differing claims or interests.

Different ideologies will cause violent conflict if tensions are not too high between the parties involved. The Civil war in Russia in 1917-1922 is a good example. The Red Army was headed the by Leon Trotsky of the Bolsheviks that was pro-communist and the White Army was headed by the Czars, the usurped royalty, who fought to regain control of Russia. The Reds won in the end at the cost of many

Protestors were encouraged by their initial success and gained public support, while the government were enraged by the initial failure and thus chose to take a harsher approach to quelling the protests. In 1989, it was barely a week before a second military force of combat-ready troops was mobilized to shoot its way into the heart of the city, reclaiming Tiananmen Square and thus discouraging further protests. Though not as violent, at some point of handling the 2014 Hong Kong protests, the police resorted to using tear gas and pepper spray on the protestors, and some protestors had turned violent after facing the police.

Thus, when tension between the parties have not escalated enough for violent conflict, we see people express themselves through forms of non-violent conflict like protests. However, when protestors are ignored or oppressed, or when they gain supporters, tensions between both sides increase and result in a violent confrontation. When parties have an unpleasant history, tensions between them are also higher. This is furthered when there is a lack of understanding between