Dear Baya,

      The world seems awash with wars. Not world wars, perhaps, but nasty little brutish wars where people are maimed and killed, precious resources destroyed, hatreds sown. Why do we, as a species, fight so much? I do wish I could see the patterns which lie behind a history of blood and vengeance which stretches back in my history books to the earliest Empires and before.

      Much of the most awful bloodshed seems to come out of something which I feel is different from regular wars. It seems nearer to what I’ve heard called ‘feuding’, such as what is happening in Israel and Palestine, Kashmir, Sri Lanka, many parts of Africa. Are these really feuds and, if so, what is a feud?

    It’s obvious that there are many kinds of war – conquest, booty, revenge, fear, greed, all sorts of motives seem to be there. Some warfare seems to be like a game, with rules and prizes just like a violent sport. Other wars seem to be about religion and spiritual things, whether seizing the magical power of others (head-hunting) or spreading one’s beliefs (crusades).

       It seems to me that you might be able to help me make sense of some of this awful activity if you could stand back and give me a wide (war in lots of types of society) and deep (war patterns over thousands of years) account. Then perhaps the next time my country asks for my support in war, or war panics are spreading, I’ll be better able to decide what to think and do. Please help me to understand the horrors of war.

Lots of love,