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For other uses, see civil war (disambiguation). See list of civil wars for individual examples.

A civil war is a war in which parties within the same culture, society or nationality fight for political power or control of an area. Some civil wars are also categorized as revolutions when major societal restructuring is a possible outcome of the conflict. An insurgency, whether successful or not, is likely to be classified as a civil war by some historians if, and only if, organized armies fight conventional battles. Other historians state the criteria for a civil war is that there must be prolonged violence between organized factions or defined regions of a country (conventionally fought or not).

Ultimately the distinction between a "civil war" and a "revolution" or other name is arbitrary, and determined by usage. The successful insurgency of the 1640s in England which led to the (temporary) overthrow of the monarchy became known as the English Civil War. The successful insurgency of the 1770s in British colonies in America, with organized armies fighting battles, came to be known as the American Revolution. In the United States, and in American-dominated sources, the term 'the civil war' almost always means the American Civil War, with other civil wars noted or inferred from context.

What is generally agreed upon is that factors such as nationalism, religion, and ideology, played little role in pre-modern civil wars. While it is quite common for nationalists to read past revolts, such as those of Scotland against England as early stirrings of nationalism, this is a somewhat suspect notion. Religion is more contentious, there are some civil wars that can be seen as fueled by religion in early years, such as the Jewish Revolts against Rome, but these can also be seen as revolts by a servile people against their oppressors or uprisings by local notables in an attempt to gain independence.

Premodern Civil Wars

Religious conflicts

Civil wars fought over religion have tended to occur more frequently in monotheistic societies than in polytheistic societies; one explanation is that the latter tend to be more "flexible" in terms of dogma, allowing for some latitude in belief. In Europe through the Middle Ages, the Christianity of the great bulk of the population was influenced by pagan tradition. With the great majority of the population illiterate, access to the Bible was limited and led to a significant amount of syncretism between Christian and pagan elements. With religion so loosely applied, it was rare for people to feel particularly oppressed by it. There were periodic appearances of heresies, such as that of the Albigensians, which led to violence, but historians tend to view these to be the product of peasant revolts rather than themselves motivators of a civil war.

As religions tended to become more rigidly defined and understood by their followers, inter-religious tensions generally increased. The rise of Islam witnessed a rash of uprisings against non-Islamic rulers soon after its appearance. Subsequent Islamic history has been marked by repeated civil conflicts, mostly stemming out of the Shi'ite-Sunni divide. In Europe the Protestant Reformation had a similar effect, sparking years of both civil and international wars of religion. Civil wars between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism consumed France in the Wars of Religion, the Netherlands during the Eighty Years' War, Germany during the Thirty Years' War, and more recently, The Troubles of Northern Ireland. Religious disputes among Protestant sects also played a role in the English Civil Wars, while official persecution of Catholics during the French Revolution spurred the Revolt in the Vendée.

Revolutions

A revolution is generally seen as a civil war fought over issues of ideology, over how power should be organized and distributed, not merely over which individuals hold it. The classic example of a revolution, and by some arguments the first is the French Revolution, which is seen to have pitted the middle class and urban poor of France against the aristocracy and monarchy. Some argue that revolutions are a modern continuation of the peasant revolts of the past. Unlike peasant revolts, however, revolutions are almost always led by members of the educated, but disaffected, middle class who then rally the large mass of the population to their cause. Others see ideology as merely replacing religion as a justification and motivation for violence that is fundamentally caused by socioeconomic factors. To be successful revolutions almost always require use of armed force and sometimes escalate to a civil war, such as in the Chinese Civil War. In some cases, such as the French and Russian Revolutions the revolutionaries succeed in gaining power through a quick coup or localized uprising, but a civil war results from counterrevolutionary forces organizing to crush the revolution.

Separatist revolts

One of the most common causes of civil wars, especially in the post-Cold War world has been separatist violence. Nationalism can be seen as similar to both a religion and an ideology as a justification for war rather than a root cause of conflict. All modern states attempt to hold a monopoly on internal military force. For separatist civil wars to break out thus either the national army must fracture along ethnic, religious, or national lines as happened in Yugoslavia; or more commonly a modern separatist conflict takes the form of asymmetrical warfare with separatists lightly armed and disorganized, but with the support of the local population such groups can be hard to defeat. This is the route taken by most liberation groups in colonies, as well as forces in areas such as Eritrea and Sri Lanka. Regional differences may be enhanced by differing economies, as in the American Civil War. National minorities are also often minorities and wars of religion may link closely into separatisty conflicts.

Coups

Coups d'état are by definition quick blows to the top of a government that do not result in the widespread violence of a civil war. On occasion a failed coup, or one that is only half successful, can precipitate a civil war between factions. These wars often quickly try to pull in larger themes of ideology, nationalism, or religion to try to win supporters among the general population for a conflict that in essence is an intraelite competition for power.

Reasons for war

Almost every nation has minority groups, religious plurality, and ideological divisions, but not all plunge into civil war. Sociologists have long searched for what variables trigger civil wars. In the modern world most civil wars occur in nations that are poor, autocratic, and regionally divided. However, the United States was one of the wealthiest and most democratic countries in the world at the time of its bloody civil war.

Some models to explain the occurrence of civil wars stress the importance of change and transition. According to one such line of reasoning, the American Civil War was caused by the growing economic power of the North relative to the South; the Lebanese Civil War by the upsetting of the delicate demographic balance by the increase in the Shi'ite population; the English Civil War by the growing power of the middle class and merchants at the expense of the aristocracy.

Competition for resources and wealth within a society is seen as a frequent cause for civil wars, however economic gain is rarely the justification espoused by the participants. Marxist historians stress economic and class factors arguing that civil wars are caused by imperialist rulers battling each other for greater power, and using tools such as nationalism and religion to delude people into joining them. Also, recent evidence proved that the violence observed in civil war can come from spurious reasons.

Not only are the causes of civil wars widely studied and debated, but their persistence is also seen as an important issue. Many civil wars have proved especially intractable, dragging on for many decades. One contributing factor is that civil wars often become proxy wars for outside powers that fund their partisans and thus encourage further violence.

Research related to the democratic peace theory have studied civil wars and democracy. Research shows that the most democratic and the most authoritarian states have few civil wars, and intermediate regimes the most. The probability for a civil war is also increased by political change, regardless whether toward greater democracy or greater autocracy. Intermediate regimes continue to be the most prone to civil war, regardless of the time since the political change. In the long run, since intermediate regimes are less stable than autocracies, which in turn are less stable than democracies, durable democracy is the most probable end-point of the process of democratization . The fall of Communism and the increase in the number of democratic states were accompanied by a sudden and dramatic decline in total warfare, interstate wars, ethnic wars, revolutionary wars, and the number of refugees and displaced persons .

Post war

Rebuilding a society in the wake of a civil war is often difficult. In an international war the two parties merely have to agree to a cease-fire and can, for the most part, go their own way. In a civil war not only must violence stop but the factions involved must also learn to coexist with each other. This can often prove difficult, as much of the population will have lost friends or loved ones in the war­—losses which they blame on their opponents. Civil wars also tend to greatly entrench any ethnic, religious, or ideological divisions within a society and restoring unity can be very difficult. The record of United Nations peacekeeping forces in healing such war-torn societies is mixed.

See also

• List of civil wars
• List of divided nations
• List of fictional wars (including fictional civil wars)
• Wars of national liberation
• The Logic of Violence in Civil War

Event Date Location Significance Lincoln elected president November 1860 U.S. Though winning in the electoral college, Lincoln's lack of a popular majority (1.9 million out of 4.7 million votes cast) is an indication of the problems he would face with a divided nation South Carolina secedes December 1860 South Carolina On news of Lincoln's election, South Carolina (site of nullification fight in 1830s) secedes Confederacy formed February 1861 Montgomery, Alabama Seven states form Confederacy, write their own constitution, and plan for an independent nation Lincoln inaugurated March 1861 Washington, D.C. Lincoln enters Washington D.C. in disguise because of unrest. Southerners begin seizing federal posts. Ft. Sumter attacked April 1861 Charleston, South Carolina Lincoln decides to supply Ft. Sumter, but wants the South to fire the first shot. Bull Run (Manassas), 1st battle July 21, 1861 Northern Virginia Gen. McDowell leads 30,000 men against Gen. Johnston's 22,000 Southern troops in an attempt to crush the rebels and go "On to Richmond." South scores victory as Union troops flee back to Washington in disarray. McDowell replaced by Gen. McClellan Ft. Henry & Ft. Donelson February 1862 Tennessee rivers Gen. Grant captures two forts on the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. Confederates forced out of Kentucky and yield much of Tennessee Monitor vs. Merrimac March 1862 Off Hampton Roads, Virginia First ironclad battle in history ends in a draw as the Merrimac withdraws after daylong exchange of fire. Union blockade of South is maintained Shiloh (Pittsburgh Landing) April 1862 Tennessee Grant overcomes Southern forces with heavy losses for each side: 13,000 Union casualties, 11,000 for South New Orleans April 1862 Louisiana Farragut seizes New Orleans for Union after boldly attacking Southern position. 11 Southern ships sunk Peninsular Campaign (Yorktown, Seven Days' Battle, Fair Oaks) March-July 1862 Southern Virginia After continual prodding by Lincoln, McClellan decides to attack Richmond via the South. He moves his large army down the Potomac, marches on Richmond, and then assumes a defensive position rather than pushing for victory. Gen. Lee takes command of Southern troops Bull Run (Manassas) 2nd battle August 1862 Northern Virginia McClellan replaced by Gen. Pope. Lee and Gen. Stonewall Jackson defeat Union troops again at Manassas and Pope is replaced by McClellan Antietam September 1862 Maryland Heavily outnumbered, Lee's troops face McClellan in bloody fighting. Over 23,000 casualties (more than all previous American wars combined). Lee retreats to Virginia Emancipation Proclamation September 23, 1862 Washington, D.C. With victory at Antietam, Lincoln announces that on 1/1/63, all slaves in the rebelling states would be free. Does not affect border states. Forces European nations to recognize that choosing sides in the Civil War is to take a stand on slavery Fredericksburg December 1862 Central Virginia Gen. Burnside attacks Lee's fortified position and suffers 10,000 casualties (to Lee's 5000). Chancellorsville May 1863 Northern Virginia Gen. Hooker defeated by Lee, but Jackson is mistakenly shot by his own men and killed. Vicksburg July 1863 Mississippi After a long siege, Vicksburg surrenders to Grant. All of Mississippi River is now in Union control Gettysburg July 1863 Pennsylvania Over 165,000 soldiers participate in the largest battle in the Western Hemisphere. After three days of fighting, Lee retreats, leaving 4,000 dead Confederates. Total casualties: 23,000 Union, 28,000 Confederates Chattanooga November 1863 Tennessee Reinforced with troops from the East, Grant is able to push Southern troops back and prepare for assault on Atlanta and the heart of the Confederacy Grant promoted to Lt. General and given command of all Union troops March 1864 Washington, D.C. Grant prepares for assault on Richmond. When Lincoln's Cabinet complains that Grant is a drunk and seeks to interfere with his command, Lincoln gives him unconditional support and asks not to be notified of his plans. Wilderness & Spotsylvania May 1864 Central Virginia Lee stops Union troops at the Wilderness, but Grant resumes march to RichmondThough suffering huge losses (55,000 men to South's 31,000), Grant states "I propose to fight on this line if it takes all summer" Petersburg June 1864--April 1865 South of Richmond, Virginia Grant focuses on important railroad junction and communication outside Richmond. Long siege of Petersburg begins with troops living in trenches which stretched for 50 miles Atlanta to Savannah September-December 1864 Georgia Gen. Sherman destroys Atlanta and then sends troops on 300 mile destructive march to the sea. Railroads torn up, buildings destroyed, crops burned in an attempt to break the will of the South Lee surrenders April 9, 1865 Appomattox Court House, Virginia Lee, refusing to see his troops suffer any further, surrenders to Grant. Southern troops given generous terms of surrender

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External links

• What makes a civil war?
• The Wars of the Roses Information about the English civil war fought between 1455 and 1487.
• Perception of the risk of civil wars worldwide
• Civil War Forum

• Civil wars