The term international crisis is a widespread term without a single common definition. To some, it involves "a sequence of interactions between the governments of two or more sovereign states in severe conflict, short of actual war, but involving the perception of a dangerously high probability of
war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
".
Types
Lebow gives a breakdown of three types of international crises:
* Justification of Hostilities. One of the nations decides, before the crisis starts, to go to
war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
and constructs a crisis to justify it. The pattern of justification is almost always the same: Rouse public opinion, make impossible demands, try to legitimize the demands, deny your real intentions then employ the rejection of the demands as a reason for war. A recent example, commonly employed by
critics of George W. Bush, is the
Iraq disarmament crisis
The Iraq disarmament crisis was claimed as one of primary issues that led to the multinational invasion of Iraq on 20 March 2003. Since the 1980s, Iraq was widely assumed to have been producing and extensively running the programs of biolog ...
, which precipitated the
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
.
* Spinoff Crisis. The nations are involved in a war or crisis with another nation or nations and this precipitates another crisis, e.g. the
Lusitania
Lusitania (; ) was an ancient Iberian Roman province located where modern Portugal (south of the Douro river) and
a portion of western Spain (the present Extremadura and the province of Salamanca) lie. It was named after the Lusitani or Lusita ...
incident in 1915.
* Brinkmanship. Intentionally forcing a crisis to get the other side to back down. The
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the United S ...
of 1962 is a well-known example of
brinkmanship
Brinkmanship (or brinksmanship) is the practice of trying to achieve an advantageous outcome by pushing dangerous events to the brink of active conflict. The maneuver of pushing a situation with the opponent to the brink succeeds by forcing the op ...
.
With the exception of a justification of hostilities, the study of international crises assumes that neither side actually wants to go to war, but must be visibly prepared to do so. In the words of
Groucho Marx
Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, stage, film, radio, singer, television star and vaudeville performer. He is generally considered to have been a master of quick wit an ...
, "Always be sincere, even if you don't mean it".
Strategies
George's book presents an overview of the process and conflicting goals of
crisis management
Crisis management is the process by which an organization deals with a disruptive and unexpected event that threatens to harm the organization or its stakeholders. The study of crisis management originated with large-scale industrial and envir ...
as well as many examples. He discusses a number of strategies, including:
Offensive strategies
*
blackmail
Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to fa ...
*limited and reversible response
*controlled pressure
*
attrition
Attrition may refer to
*Attrition warfare, the military strategy of wearing down the enemy by continual losses in personnel and material
**War of Attrition, fought between Egypt and Israel from 1968 to 1970
**War of attrition (game), a model of agg ...
*
fait accompli
Many words in the English vocabulary are of French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman Conquest, before the language settled into what became Modern Engli ...
Defensive strategies
*
coercion
Coercion () is compelling a party to act in an involuntary manner by the use of threats, including threats to use force against a party. It involves a set of forceful actions which violate the free will of an individual in order to induce a desi ...
*limited
escalation
*
tit-for-tat
Tit for tat is an English saying meaning "equivalent retaliation". It developed from "tip for tap", first recorded in 1558.
It is also a highly effective strategy in game theory. An agent using this strategy will first cooperate, then subseque ...
*test of capabilities
*"drawing a line"
* buying time strategy
* conveying commitment and resolve to avoid miscalculation by the adversary
List of defused crises
International crises tend to result in war, almost by definition; they are then remembered best not as crises but as
causes of wars Causes, or causality, is the relationship between one event and another. It may also refer to:
* Causes (band), an indie band based in the Netherlands
* Causes (company), an online company
See also
* Cause (disambiguation)
{{disambiguation ...
. For information on international crises that resulted immediately in war, see
List of wars
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, a ...
Given the above, some of the crises that are best-known ''as crises'' were defused. The following crises did not immediately provoke large-scale violence, but set off anger in countries:
*
War in sight crisis (1875)
[Lothar Gall, ''Bismarck: The White Revolutionary, Volume 2: 1871–1898'' (1986) pp 46–48]
*
Samoan Crisis
The Samoan Crisis was a standoff between the United States, the German Empire, and the British Empire from 1887 to 1889 over control of the Samoan Islands during the First Samoan Civil War.
Background
In 1878, the United States acquired a fuel ...
(1887-1889), between the United States of America, England, and Germany
*
Anglo-Portuguese Crisis (1889–1890)
*
Venezuelan crisis of 1895
The Venezuelan crisis of 1895 occurred over Venezuela's longstanding dispute with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland about the territory of Essequibo and Guayana Esequiba, which Britain claimed as part of British Guiana and Venezuel ...
, between Venezuela and the United Kingdom
*
Fashoda Incident
The Fashoda Incident, also known as the Fashoda Crisis ( French: ''Crise de Fachoda''), was an international incident and the climax of imperialist territorial disputes between Britain and France in East Africa, occurring in 1898. A French exped ...
(1898–1899)
*
''Baltimore'' Crisis (1891-1892)
*
Venezuelan crisis of 1902–03
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of V ...
, between Venezuela and Britain, Germany and Italy
*
First Moroccan Crisis
The First Moroccan Crisis or the Tangier Crisis was an international crisis between March 1905 and May 1906 over the status of Morocco. Germany wanted to challenge France's growing control over Morocco, aggravating France and Great Britain. The ...
(1904–1906)
*
Dutch–Venezuelan crisis of 1908
The Dutch–Venezuelan crisis of 1908 was a dispute that broke out between the Netherlands and Venezuela after the Venezuelan president, Cipriano Castro, cut off trade with the Dutch island of Curaçao.
Venezuela expelled the Dutch ambassador ...
, between Venezuela and the Netherlands
*
Bosnian crisis (1908–1909)
*
Agadir Crisis
The Agadir Crisis, Agadir Incident, or Second Moroccan Crisis was a brief crisis sparked by the deployment of a substantial force of French troops in the interior of Morocco in April 1911 and the deployment of the German gunboat to Agadir, a ...
(1911)
*
Åland crisis
Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an autonomous and demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1,580 km2, and a populati ...
(1916–1920)
*
Remilitarization of the Rhineland
The remilitarization of the Rhineland () began on 7 March 1936, when German military forces entered the Rhineland, which directly contravened the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Treaties. Neither France nor Britain was prepared for a milit ...
(1936)
*
Anschluss
The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938.
The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...
(1938)
*
May Crisis (1938)
*
Sudetenland Crisis
The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and sk, Sudety) is the historical German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the ...
(1938)
*
Levant Crisis
The Levant Crisis, also known as the Damascus Crisis, the Syrian Crisis, or the Levant Confrontation, was a military confrontation that took place between British and French forces in Syria in May 1945 soon after the end of World War II in Eur ...
(1945) between the United Kingdom and Syria, France
*
Iran crisis (1946–1947)
*
Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road ...
(1948–1949)
*
Berlin Crisis of 1961
The Berlin Crisis of 1961 (german: Berlin-Krise) occurred between 4 June – 9 November 1961, and was the last major European politico-military incident of the Cold War about the occupational status of the German capital city, Berlin, and of po ...
*
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the United S ...
(1962)
*
''Pueblo'' incident (1968)
*
Damansky Island Crisis (1969)
*
1973 Chilean coup
*
Axe Murder Incident
The Korean axe murder incident (, ) was the killing of two US Army officers, Captain Arthur Bonifas and First Lieutenant Mark Barrett, by North Korean soldiers on August 18, 1976, in the Joint Security Area (JSA) in the Korean Demilitarized Zone ...
(1976)
*
Beagle conflict
The Beagle conflict was a border dispute between Chile and Argentina over the possession of Picton, Lennox and Nueva islands and the scope of the maritime jurisdiction associated with those islands that brought the countries to the brink of war i ...
(1978)
*
Iran hostage crisis
On November 4, 1979, 52 United States diplomats and citizens were held hostage after a group of militarized Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over t ...
(1979)
*
Able Archer 83
Able Archer 83 was the annual NATO Able Archer exercise conducted in November 1983. The purpose for the command post exercise, like previous years, was to simulate a period of conflict escalation, culminating in the US military attaining a simu ...
(1983)
*
Caldas' crisis (1987)
Ongoing crises
*
Korean conflict
The Korean conflict is an ongoing conflict based on the division of Korea between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) and South Korea (Republic of Korea), both of which claim to be the sole legitimate government of all of Korea ...
(1945-ongoing)
**
North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
North Korea has a Korean People's Army, military nuclear weapon program, nuclear weapons program and, as of early 2020, is estimated to have an nuclear arsenal, arsenal of approximately 30 to 40 nuclear weapons and sufficient production of f ...
*
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is one of the world's most enduring conflicts, beginning in the mid-20th century. Various attempts have been made to resolve the conflict as part of the Israeli–Palestinian peace process, alongside other ef ...
(1947-ongoing)
*
Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts
Since the Partition of India, Partition of British India in 1947 and subsequent creation of the dominions of Dominion of India, India and Dominion of Pakistan, Pakistan, the two countries have been involved in a number of wars, conflicts, and m ...
(1947-ongoing)
*
Territorial disputes in the South China Sea
Territorial disputes in the South China Sea involve conflicting island and maritime claims in the region by several sovereign states, namely Brunei, the People's Republic of China (PRC), Taiwan (Republic of China/ROC), Indonesia, Malaysia, Ph ...
(1950s-ongoing)
*
Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict
, width =
, partof = the Arab Winter
, image = Iran Saudi conflict 2022.png
, image_size = 300px
, caption ...
(1979-ongoing)
**
Iraqi conflict
The Iraqi conflict is an armed conflict that began with the 2003 invasion of Iraq by a United States-led Multi-National Force – Iraq, coalition that toppled the Ba'athist Iraq, government of Saddam Hussein. The conflict continued as an insurge ...
(2003-ongoing)
*
Crisis in Venezuela
The crisis in Venezuela is an ongoing socioeconomic and political crisis that began in Venezuela during the presidency of Hugo Chávez and has worsened in Nicolás Maduro's presidency. It has been marked by hyperinflation, escalating starvation ...
(2010-ongoing)
*
Libyan conflict (2011-ongoing)
*
Syrian Civil War (2011-ongoing)
*
Uyghur genocide
The Chinese government has committed a series of ongoing human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities in Xinjiang that is often characterized as genocide. Since 2014, the Chinese government, under the a ...
(2014-ongoing)
*
Yemeni Civil War Yemeni Civil War may refer to several historical events which have taken place in Yemen:
*Alwaziri coup, February – March 1948
*Yemeni–Adenese clan violence, 1956–60
*North Yemen Civil War, 1962–70
*Aden Emergency, 1963–67
*South Yemen#Di ...
(2015-ongoing)
*
Rohingya genocide
The Rohingya genocide is a series of ongoing persecutions and killings of the Muslim Rohingya people by the Burmese military. The genocide has consisted of two phases to date: the first was a military crackdown that occurred from October 2016 ...
(2017-ongoing)
*
Lebanese crisis (2019-ongoing)
See also
*
Diplomacy
Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...
*
International relations
International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...
*
The UN
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
*
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
*
G-20
The G20 or Group of Twenty is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union (EU). It works to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stability, climate change mitigation, ...
*
Negotiation
Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people or parties to reach the desired outcome regarding one or more issues of conflict. It is an interaction between entities who aspire to agree on matters of mutual interest. The agreement c ...
*
Crisis
A crisis ( : crises; : critical) is either any event or period that will (or might) lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affair ...
*
Crisis management
Crisis management is the process by which an organization deals with a disruptive and unexpected event that threatens to harm the organization or its stakeholders. The study of crisis management originated with large-scale industrial and envir ...
*
:Wikipedia categories named after diplomatic crises
References
# Snyder, Glenn H. and Diesing, Paul: 1977. Conflict Among Nations: Bargaining, Decision Making and System Structure in International Crises.
# Lebow, Richard N.:1981. Between Peace and War: The Nature of International Crisis.
#George, Alexander L (ed): 1991. Avoiding War: Problems of Crisis Management. {{ISBN, 0-8133-1232-9
External links
International Crisis Behavior Project's Data ViewerSearchable analyses of 487 crises from 1918 to 2017
Causes of war
Crisis
International relations terminology
*