We often assume there are two kinds of wars: international wars, and civil wars within a country. And it is commonly held that the worst kind of conflict is a civil war.
Historically, civil wars have devastated a country's economy, set brother against brother, and created long-lasting bitterness. The U.S. Civil War was a case in point.
In war with another country, civilian life "back home" may go on more or less as usual, and the common struggle may increase domestic solidarity. In World War II, this was the case in the U.S.
I would argue, though, that the distinction between international wars and civil wars is now hopelessly out of date.
In today's world, all wars are civil wars! Thanks to technological progress, we are living in one world, whether we like it or not.
For many purposes, today's world is "smaller" than the original 13 U.S. states in 1787. It took many days by ship, horseback, or stagecoach to travel to other parts of the young United States, whereas we can now get anywhere on the planet in a day or so.
Mail between the original 13 states traveled equally slowly. Now we can communicate instantly anywhere by email, and talk with (and see!) people nearly everywhere on our smartphones.
We are not only living in a small world, but that world confronts serious problems that can only be addressed and solved at the world level. Any war diverts us from these problems.
The most obvious example of a problem that can only be solved at the world level is the global warming caused by carbon dioxide accumulating in the atmosphere.
The world's atmosphere can't be walled off by particular countries. If some countries stop burning carbon fuels and others don't, we will all still be in for big trouble.
One consequence of global warming is that an increasing number of climate refugees will be fleeing areas that have become intolerably hot, and they will have to go somewhere. If the world as a whole is not prepared to arrange to do this in an orderly way, it will happen in the disorderly way we are currently seeing.
War today has become something involving the whole world, no matter how localized the territory on which battles are actually taking place. With the arrival of North Korean troops in Russia, it is becoming difficult to count all the different countries that are involved in one way or the other in the war between Russia and Ukraine.
And some people, notably including Russian President Vladimir Putin, consider Russia and Ukraine to be parts of the same country. If this is the case, then this war is also a civil war in the older sense of the term.
Likewise, the war between Israel and Hamas has been a civil war in both the older and new sense of the term. It has had consequences in countries all around the world, perhaps even determining the presidential election in the United States. But it is between two parties both of which claim to be the sole legitimate government of the entire area, including Israel proper, Gaza, and the West Bank.
In both Israel and Ukraine, the number of large — concrete-based —residential buildings destroyed has been notable, and producing cement to replace them will release immense amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide, aggravating the world's climate problems.
Today's worldwide civil war is costing huge amounts of money, ruining millions of civilian lives, causing a huge number of military casualties. And it is diverting time, attention and resources away from the crucial battle with climate change that the intelligent self-interest of the world's people would prioritize.
Paul F. deLespinasse is Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Computer Science at Adrian College. Read Professor Paul F. deLespinasse's Reports — More Here.