http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/civil-war Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Mon, 20 Apr 2026 05:02:59 -0400 Mon, 20 Apr 2026 05:02:59 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1903/from-flourishing-industrial-slavocracy-to-restrictive-tenancy-and-re-enslavement-the-southern-labor-force-before-and-after-the-civil-war By Mang Lu - Some scholars of American history suggest the institution of slavery was dying out on the eve of the Civil War, implying the Civil War was fought over more generic, philosophical states' rights principles rather than slavery itself. Economic evidence shows this conclusion is largely incorrect; the industrial slavocracy of the south was thriving—Southern aristocrats had every reason to fight the prospect of abolition, for the Southern economy and capital structure was almost exclusively on the ownership of Black men and women. After the war, repression continued through economic means, as... Tue, 25 May 2021 09:44 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1903/from-flourishing-industrial-slavocracy-to-restrictive-tenancy-and-re-enslavement-the-southern-labor-force-before-and-after-the-civil-war http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1858/the-lingering-influence-of-revolutionary-political-discourse-from-the-civil-war-and-reconstruction-era By Bhadrajee S. Hewage - The Civil War was a seminal moment in the historical development in the United States. The American Revolution may have created the U.S. as a sovereign nation, but the Civil War helped to determine what kind of nation America would become. The Reconstruction era, from Lincoln's 1863 Emancipation Proclamation to Hayes's removal of federal troops from the South in 1877, further defined how exactly the U.S. would evolve into the nation that it is today. By examining the attitudes towards the extension of slavery in the pre-war U.S., the decisions taken by the Union and Confederate governments during... Fri, 08 Jan 2021 10:45 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1858/the-lingering-influence-of-revolutionary-political-discourse-from-the-civil-war-and-reconstruction-era http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1751/the-captains-compromise-political-symbolism-in-herman-melvilles-benito-cereno By Brian Chen - Until the outbreak of civil war, the United States would continually try and fail to subdue the existential threat of slavery, with each attempt exacerbating the sectional tensions between slave and free states. In 1830, Massachusetts Senator Daniel Webster claimed that the country stood on the “precipice of disunion” and foresaw a future in which “the broken and dishonored fragments of a once glorious Union” are drenched in “fraternal blood.”[1] As tribalism tore away the shared history between the North and South, Webster’s grim prediction would eventually... Wed, 09 Jan 2019 10:37 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1751/the-captains-compromise-political-symbolism-in-herman-melvilles-benito-cereno http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1712/food-insecurity-and-the-threat-to-global-stability-and-security-in-the-21st-century By Michael DeFeo - In 2010, over 250,000 Syrian farmers were forced from their land due to water shortages. Lack of water left these farmers dangerously food insecure, so they moved, en masse, into Syrian urban centers. This strained an already overburdened infrastructure which increased tensions between urban dwellers and the displaced farmers (El Hassan, 2014). One year later, the Syrian Civil War began, which has killed over 500,000 Syrians and has destabilized the entire country. Since then, the Islamic State has conquered swaths of land through terror campaigns, rebel and Syrian military clashes have left thousands... Thu, 07 Dec 2017 09:25 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1712/food-insecurity-and-the-threat-to-global-stability-and-security-in-the-21st-century http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1692/the-effects-of-institutional-and-political-instability-on-civil-war-in-south-sudan By Michael DeFeo - Political and military instability plague South Sudan, but economic depression and mass starvation have resulted from the civil war as well. Cutting off oil production sent the economy into a recession it has not recovered from. International sanctions designed to force the government to provide aid to its people, combined with political upheaval have decimated the South Sudanese economy. Corruption amongst political and military elites has diverted foreign aid to just a few kleptocrats rather than the starving population. Even in relatively stable regions, food insecurity is rampant. Controversy... Thu, 02 Nov 2017 10:30 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1692/the-effects-of-institutional-and-political-instability-on-civil-war-in-south-sudan http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1409/the-uprisings-of-nat-turner-and-john-brown-response-and-treatment-from-the-abolitionist-movement-and-the-press By Franco A. Paz - This paper examines two influential slave uprisings and the treatment these received by both the abolitionist movement and the press. The first section explores the country’s reaction to John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry, as well as his subsequent trial, conviction, and execution. The second section discusses the media coverage of and reaction to the Southampton Insurrection, the largest slave rebellion in the history of the United States. The third section explores the contrasting reactions to Nat Turner’s and John Brown’s respective revolts, and analyzes some... Mon, 23 May 2016 05:55 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1409/the-uprisings-of-nat-turner-and-john-brown-response-and-treatment-from-the-abolitionist-movement-and-the-press http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1415/consequences-of-iraqi-de-baathification By Cherish M. Zinn - Ambassador Paul Bremer of the Coalition Provisional Authority, America's interim government between Saddam's fall and the independent establishment of a new Iraqi government, issued two specific orders during his term which combined to create a power vacuum in the weakened nation. The first order, or the De-Baathification order, eliminated the top four tiers of Saddam's Baath party from current and future positions of civil service. The second disbanded the Iraqi military. Both orders worked to eliminate the institutional memory of all Iraqi institutions, requiring Bremer to establish the nation... Mon, 23 May 2016 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1415/consequences-of-iraqi-de-baathification http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1390/comparing-the-roots-of-conflict-in-europe-the-middle-east-and-africa By Jacob C. Potts - In public discourse, Africa and the Middle East have become synonymous with ethnic and religious conflict, whereas Europe is known as a bastion of peace and stability. But are areas known for their ‘high conflict’ truly more susceptible to regional conflict compared to the more 'peaceful' regions? Our findings indicate that the Middle East and North Africa are not as susceptible to the conflicts previously mentioned. We instead propose a more complex view of conflict, where ethnic and religious conflict occur in most regions and factors such as the Cold War in Europe and the existence... Fri, 15 Apr 2016 07:31 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1390/comparing-the-roots-of-conflict-in-europe-the-middle-east-and-africa http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1247/neither-can-live-while-the-other-survives-how-the-representation-of-the-syrian-conflict-neglects-the-citizen By Jessica C. Bridges - The power of heads of state and government officials is indisputable. The many faults of overreliance on the ‘demi-Gods’ of modern world politics could be listed and detailed with great delight, yet an ignorance of ‘real-world’ psychology would be remiss in the context. The major hazard to highlight, and add to the jumble of opinions already distributed, is this: a blind acceptance of a narrative provided by the two leading competitors for the prize of… (peace?) in Syria leads one down a dangerous path that bolsters a bellicose Waltzian ‘balance of power&rsquo... Thu, 22 Oct 2015 10:01 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1247/neither-can-live-while-the-other-survives-how-the-representation-of-the-syrian-conflict-neglects-the-citizen http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1055/from-retribution-to-restoration-in-sierra-leone-fambul-toks-drive-to-heal-post-civil-communities By Pratik Raghu - Between 1991 and 2002, the small West African coastal state of Sierra Leone was rocked by a brutal civil war, which killed, injured, displaced, and traumatized millions of men, women, and children. In the aftermath of the conflict, local political elites combined with intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations to establish the international-domestic Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC); they hoped that these hybrid bodies would respectively bring the war’s chief perpetrators to justice and address victims’ needs while creating... Tue, 14 Jul 2015 04:28 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1055/from-retribution-to-restoration-in-sierra-leone-fambul-toks-drive-to-heal-post-civil-communities http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1054/the-islamic-state-healthcare-paradox-a-caliphate-in-crisis By Archit Baskaran - The civil war in Syria has taken an enormous toll on civilian populations. One of the most commonly overlooked aspect of this crisis is the impact on healthcare in the region. Syria’s health capacity has been ravaged by years of government bombings and Islamic State expansion. As the Islamic State (IS) continues to consolidate territory, its actions become less and less clear. Islamic State militants have embarked on a brutal campaign against health providers and infrastructure, yet they attempt to promote health among other social services in order to gain support from local populations... Sun, 05 Jul 2015 05:14 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1054/the-islamic-state-healthcare-paradox-a-caliphate-in-crisis http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1583/the-impact-of-external-support-on-intrastate-conflict By Adam Parente - Supporting participants in intrastate conflict often appears as a relatively cheap, effective strategy to address security concerns by weakening and distracting enemies participating in those conflicts if not by outright eliminating them. Rebels are often underequipped and could benefit from external sources of weapons, supplies, and training. However, conflicts have multiple dynamics beyond combat capabilities that may limit the expected utility of providing additional resources such as popular support. Using an expanded version of the UCDP dataset on civil conflict, this paper addresses the... Sun, 31 May 2015 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1583/the-impact-of-external-support-on-intrastate-conflict http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1182/the-potential-benefits-of-early-neutral-intervention-in-revolutions By Thomas Sutton II - In the latter half of his essay, The Ethics of Revolution and Its Implications for the Ethics of Intervention, in addition to the widely accepted rationale for early, neutral foreign intervention into revolutions[i] — that early intervention by a third party into crises prevents many casualties — Buchanan provides two compelling arguments for the potential benefits of early intervention. He proposes that it can be used both to mitigate the continuous “cycle of coercion” that usually accompanies revolutions, and to establish suitable conditions for the free expression... Wed, 15 Apr 2015 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1182/the-potential-benefits-of-early-neutral-intervention-in-revolutions http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1180/colombias-opportunity-for-transitional-justice By Ana Luquerna - This paper will focus on the extreme tension between the Colombian government, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Patriotic Union (UP) political party. Even though Colombia has been labeled a democratic country since the 1970s, its failure to successfully participate in transitional justice has inhibited the growth of a full democracy. In addition to explaining the tensions between the FARC, UP, and the Colombian government, this paper will explain how elements of transitional justice, such as the integration/demobilization of armed groups back into society and... Wed, 15 Apr 2015 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1180/colombias-opportunity-for-transitional-justice http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/906/the-arab-leagues-role-in-the-syrian-civil-war By T M - In March 2011 peaceful protests over the arrest and torture of young Syrians, themselves having drawn slogans refering to the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia on walls in Syria’s Daraa, led to the killing of six civilians by Syrian police. The protests quickly spread, while the government response grew increasingly cruel. More than three years later, the death toll from Syria’s Civil War has reached over 150,000[2] and 6.5 - 7.6 million have become internally displaced (IDPs) according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).[3] Together with... Sun, 13 Jul 2014 04:33 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/906/the-arab-leagues-role-in-the-syrian-civil-war http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/891/the-international-military-police-and-the-allied-intervention-in-the-russian-civil-war By Christopher T. McMaster - In 1914 Russia was a powerful empire. It constituted a fundamental part of the European balance of power. However, years of bloody and costly war changed the nation by bringing to boil all the inequities and discontent built up under the Tsarist order. By 1917 up to two million men lay dead, with nearly three million more wounded and sick.1 In February of that year the Romanov dynasty was overthrown and a provisional government formed. Unwisely deciding to continue the fight against Germany, that government was likewise overthrown. On November 7, 1917 the Bolsheviks entered the Winter Palace and... Thu, 24 Apr 2014 11:12 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/891/the-international-military-police-and-the-allied-intervention-in-the-russian-civil-war http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/889/woodrow-wilson-and-the-american-expeditionary-force-to-siberia-1918-1920 By Christopher T. McMaster - Several explanations of Wilson’s actions have since emerged.1 Two interpretations see intervention as part of the Allied war effort, with the President portrayed as believing claims that the Bolsheviks were actually German Agents, or as acting in a way to steer his allies into supporting Russian ‘liberal nationalism’ against the threats of both Russian Bolshevism and German militarism.2 A third interpretation, offered by the former diplomat George Kennan, explains the dispatch of troops ultimately as an effort to rescue the beleaguered “Czech Legion,” which had just... Tue, 15 Apr 2014 12:40 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/889/woodrow-wilson-and-the-american-expeditionary-force-to-siberia-1918-1920 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1186/women-of-war-the-female-fighters-of-the-liberation-tigers-of-tamil-eelam By Erin Alexander - This paper explores the gendered dimensions of ethnic conflict, with a focus on the role that women have played in the LTTE. I analyze the gendered reconstruction of Tamil women in war to determine whether their participation in violence has altered their selfperception and, to a lesser extent, society’s view of female combatants. My analysis is based on many sources that offer first-hand knowledge of, and interviews with, female LTTE fighters. In order to better understand the roots of the conflict between the Tamil and Sinhalese peoples of Sri Lanka, Section II first provides a brief history... Tue, 15 Apr 2014 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1186/women-of-war-the-female-fighters-of-the-liberation-tigers-of-tamil-eelam http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1484/natural-resources-and-prolonged-conflict-the-case-of-sierra-leone By Nina Assadi - Why did Sierra Leone experience such a protracted civil war between 1991 and 2002? Sierra Leone has been beset with challenges since achieving independence from Britain in 1961, in particular its brutal civil war that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of almost a third of the total population. Yet Sierra Leone is now one of the more stable countries in West Africa due to its recently re-established democratic government and increasingly transparent, peaceful, and credible elections since 1996 following a series of turbulent regime transitions. This has finally resulted... Fri, 15 Nov 2013 12:00 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1484/natural-resources-and-prolonged-conflict-the-case-of-sierra-leone http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/722/causes-of-violent-conflict-in-the-caucasus-since-the-collapse-of-communism By Salvatore J. Freni - Nonetheless, the Abkhaz retained the highest proportion of positions in their local government over all other ethnicities in Abkhazia. Like Abkhazia, Adyghea was named after its local Adyghe or Circassian ethnic group, but does not make up a majority there and their ethnic-brethren are also found in Karachai-Cherkessia and Kabardino-Balkaria (Rezvani 2008). Neither Adyghea nor the other territories where Circassians are present erupted in conflict, despite significant mobilization based on Circassian identity. The lack of demands for separatism among the Circassians could have to do with the dispersed... Tue, 22 Jan 2013 10:10 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/722/causes-of-violent-conflict-in-the-caucasus-since-the-collapse-of-communism http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/703/a-nation-divided-civil-war-politics-and-emancipation By Joshua A. Jones - The Emancipation Proclamation was arguably the United States’ first step away from hypocrisy and toward true racial equality. However, commentators often obscure its pivotal role in bringing the Civil War to a close by inferring that it was contrived out of benevolence and concern for the civil rights of minorities. These romanticized narratives overlook the position of slavery in the pre-Civil War economy and the use of segregation as a social control mechanism. This paper examines the content of various speeches given by the “Great Emancipator” Abraham Lincoln during his campaign... Fri, 28 Sep 2012 09:54 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/703/a-nation-divided-civil-war-politics-and-emancipation http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/641/duty-in-the-face-of-defeat-the-confederate-soldiers-perseverance By William D. Jones - By 1864 and 1865, the effects of three years of war were like symptoms of a terrible disease afflicting the Confederacy. Internal divisions caused by perceptions of an overreaching and ineffectual government, antagonistic class and state objectives, economic woes, and a general decrease in morale caused by a lack of military successes were among the illnesses that plagued the South. Although these developments applied mainly to the home-front, the Confederate soldier was also affected. What was it, then, that compelled these men to continue to suffer and risk their lives in a war that was slowly... Fri, 11 May 2012 08:05 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/641/duty-in-the-face-of-defeat-the-confederate-soldiers-perseverance http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1240/hot-cocoa-agricultural-economics-and-the-ivorian-civil-wars By John Biberman - The recent International Criminal Court arraignment of former president Laurent Gbagbo on charges of crimes against humanity marks the culmination of a decade of conflict in Côte d'Ivoire--, one of the most protracted periods of strife in West African history. Following the 1993 death of longtime leader Félix Houphouët-Boigny, or "Le Vieux," the country gradually descended into a largely broken state, divided by two civil wars. The conflict has caused Côte d'Ivoire, whose economic capital Abidjan was once called "the Paris of Africa", to lose its designation as one of Africa... Sun, 15 Apr 2012 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1240/hot-cocoa-agricultural-economics-and-the-ivorian-civil-wars http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1062/who-drove-the-libyan-uprising By Alex Serafimov - During the armed conflict to topple Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, a common question for observers was “who are the Libyan opposition?” Indeed, for one scholar this was the ‘billion dollar question’,1 and, in the United States, it was a common concern.2 Conspicuously absent from most media discourse, and rarely discussed in narratives of the conflict, is who the armed militants and Libya’s new leadership are. Technocratic, neoliberal, exile and Islamist elements mingle under the moniker of “anti-Gaddafi forces” and the National Transitional Council (NTC), which... Sun, 01 Jan 2012 12:00 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1062/who-drove-the-libyan-uprising http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/352/ending-ethnic-conflict-and-creating-positive-peace-in-rwanda-and-sierra-leone By Katherine J. Wolfenden - Although peace and pacifism are familiar ideas to most students today, for much of human history these concepts have been relegated to the religious domain and excluded from the study and practice of politics.[1] At the same time, war--organized violent conflict between different groups of people--has traditionally been considered a natural occurrence, based on popular assumptions about the inclinations and limitations of human nature.[2] Of course, many today still believe that peace is idealistic and war is inevitable, but other theories have emerged in modern times to explain the existence... Tue, 04 Jan 2011 09:13 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/352/ending-ethnic-conflict-and-creating-positive-peace-in-rwanda-and-sierra-leone http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/256/the-horn-of-africa-critical-analysis-of-conflict-management-and-strategies-for-success-in-the-horns-future By Emily K. Elmore - Locations that are biased toward one party or the other will immediately put the visiting party in a defensive posture and can limit the efficacy of collaborative talks before they begin. Third parties may also perform an inquiry to establish the facts of the dispute and subsequently offer acceptable solutions. Regional third parties have acted in the Horn, but resulted in little success for reasons to be later examined. In this region, third parties must be carefully selected; mediators have been difficult to designate due to alliance swapping, perceptions of illegitimate representatives, and... Fri, 18 Jun 2010 08:24 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/256/the-horn-of-africa-critical-analysis-of-conflict-management-and-strategies-for-success-in-the-horns-future http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/223/major-development-challenges-facing-the-republic-of-angola-completing-the-democratic-transition-and-making-government-work By Dustin R. Turin -  Contemporary Angola must be regarded as the product of a deeply conflicted history. From the moment independence was declared in November 1975, the country was launched into an intense civil war that in the end claimed up to a million lives, destroyed most legitimate economic activity, and rendered vast swathes of the country useless, inundated with landmines. As a result of this legacy, there now exists a “generation of mutilados”—‘mutilated ones’—within the Angolan populace (Meredith 2006: 610). Indeed, Angola’s post-independence history reveals... Mon, 05 Apr 2010 09:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/223/major-development-challenges-facing-the-republic-of-angola-completing-the-democratic-transition-and-making-government-work http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/128/the-positive-impact-of-african-union-forces-in-darfur By Boris S. Nikitin - After the wave of liberalization of many African states in the late twentieth-century, the world has seen a rise in the amount of international and internal conflicts that have taken thousands of human lives. Ethnic tensions and economic hardships have often been the driving factors perpetuating conflict between groups within a particular state. In the case of Sudan, which has experienced decades of civil war, government forces have fought to suppress the recent uprising in Darfur, instigated by the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), and the Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA). Since 2003, there... Tue, 19 Jan 2010 08:59 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/128/the-positive-impact-of-african-union-forces-in-darfur http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/121/rethinking-the-american-civil-war-through-the-eyes-of-a-teenager By Adrienne M. Naylor - The legacy of the American Civil War with which we are left is one that emphasizes a participatory American populace, overwhelmingly enthused over and invested in the conflict. Particularly in the North, we are likely to think of a cooperative culture unifying civilians and the enlisted in a shared war effort. Indeed, the popularity of this vision is such that a production currently runs at Boston’s Huntington Theatre called A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration. While self-congratulatory histories of uplift and reconciliation everywhere abound, contradictory records lay... Wed, 13 Jan 2010 10:22 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/121/rethinking-the-american-civil-war-through-the-eyes-of-a-teenager http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/85/serbia-and-the-former-yugoslavia-whats-to-be-done By Kendra A. Palmer - Possession of land and power has been brutally contested for hundreds of years; factions specific to the area have nothing less than abhorrence for one another. Intervention from the outside has failed to create lasting peace. It is imperative to examine history to find an answer for this continuing crisis. What is to be done? What is the importance of Kosovo and what is it trying to say? Perhaps this: the re-allotment of land and power should be made in favor of the Serbian people. This can be proven through a review of certain aspects of their history, specifically in the past territorial and... Fri, 11 Dec 2009 10:07 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/85/serbia-and-the-former-yugoslavia-whats-to-be-done