UGC NET/JRF EXAM, DEFENCE AND STRATEGIC STUDIES, June-2019* (Paper-II)

Civil war differs radically from both international war and communal violence. Unlike international war, it is fought outside any structure of rules and entirely within the territory of the society.

Unlike communal violence, it implies a rebel organization equipped with armaments and staffed with full-time recruits. Such rebel armies usually have little option but to live off the land.

These features typically escalate the social costs of civil war above the costs of either international war or communal violence. For example, the same conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia generated both a civil war and, following Eritrean independence, an international war.

As a civil war the conflict lasted for 30 years and was ended only by military victory. As an international war the conflict was subject to the full panoply of international mediation and ended swiftly in a negotiated settlement. To analyse civil war we need to know what we mean by it.

We adopt a precise but conventional definition : civil war occurs when an identifiable rebel organization challenges the government military and the resulting violence results in more than 1,000 combat-related deaths, with at least 5 per cent on each side.

There are many other forms of groups violence, such as protests, riots, and programs, but we do not consider them here. The perpetrators of civil war usually adopt the rhetoric that the war is a necessary catalyst for social progress.

Occasionally this is right, but more typically war is an economic and social disaster for the affected country. Therefore, for those who care about development, civil war is a major problem.

Civil war differs radically from international war as:

In the past two decades, India has undergone dramatic transformations in the economic, social and political spheres. The country has radically transformed its economy and is now projected to be on course to become the third largest economy in the world by 2030.

Besides this spectacular economic growth, Indian democracy has steadily consolidated and expanded its scope in the postindependence era.

The recent successes of civil society groups in mobilising public support for various causes are testimony to the power and resilience of democratic India's ability to negotiate conflicts within the society through peaceful methods.

However, despite its numerous successes, India faces enormous challenges at the domestic, regional and global levels.

India's economic growth has not been matched by the evolution of its governance structures and institutional competence resulting in higher expectations of political institutions to bridge the gap between promise and performance.

India's growth story has not yet translated into the economic democracy envisioned by the country's leaders. This may cause greater social and political stresses than those that India has had to contend with during the first six decades after its independence.

By the year 2030 Indian economy is projected to become the: