THE COSTS

OF WAR
The Contemporary World
Group 3
 WAR DEATHS
Attempts to calculate the impact of war focus on the most immediate and horrific impact: the
human casualties and property damage caused by war.

The conflicts that generated the largest number of battle deaths from 1946 to 2002:
Vietnam War (1955-75)
Korean War (1950-3)
Chinese Civil War (1946-9)
Iran-Iraq War (1980-8)
Afghan Civil War (1978-2002)
 PSYCHOLOGICAL CASUALTIES
War takes a psychological toll on civilians and especially soldiers. They are exposed to negative
stressors that affect their mental health.

The US Army’s Mental Health Advisory Team found relations between exposure to these kinds
of stressors and various mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD).

Psychological distress can have real physical effects as well. It was estimated that the number
of US Vietnam veterans dying prematurely after returning home was two times the number of
those who were killed in the war.
 LOST CHILDHOODS
War can be particularly brutal on children physically, emotionally, and developmentally.

During the 1990s, millions of children were killed, injured, and displaced.

Children are recruited and engaged in combat, which resulted in them having deformities, skin
diseases, infections, malnutrition, drug addiction, and sexually transmitted diseases.

Children are also affected psychologically and morally. They are often indoctrinated by adults to
become thoughtless killers or are turned into slaves.
 DAMAGE TO PHYSICAL AND SOCIO-
ECONOMIC CAPITAL
Armed conflicts target physical capital such as infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and
communication systems.

NNNNSchools, hospitals, and water supplies suffer damage, impacting communities' ability to
function.

Agricultural and industrial production may be halted, leading to food shortages and increased
prices.

Landmines post-war interfere with agriculture, causing a reduction in food output and the
abandonment of rural areas.
 DAMAGE TO PHYSICAL AND SOCIO-
ECONOMIC CAPITAL
Indirect costs of war, including inflation, indebtedness, and labor diversion to the military,
often exceed direct ones.

Destruction of private and public infrastructure lowers the standard of living and increases
unemployment.

War weakens social, political, and economic institutions, resulting in inadequate food and water
supply, unemployment, health care disruptions, and an increased number of vulnerable
populations.
 DAMAGE TO THE ENVIRONMENT
War and wartime environmental damage can have devastating impacts on the environment
and civilians.
During the Vietnam War, the US prayed approximately 55 thousand tons of chemical
defoliants over Vietnam’s forests and crops, which sparked international outrage. The UN General
Assembly responded by issuing a resolution that prohibited the use of chemical weapons,
particularly on plants and animals.
 DAMAGE TO THE ENVIRONMENT
In 1991, the international community was outraged by Iraq’s attempts to destroy Kuwait’s
environment and resources by blowing up more than 700 Kuwaiti oil wells, igniting them, and
dumping an estimated 6–11 million barrels of oil directly into the Persian Gulf. This caused
devastation to the marine environment, harm to migratory bird populations, oil seeping into desert
soil, and atmospheric pollution.

The UN declared Iraq liable for all the

damages, including environmental and destruction of
natural resources.
 DAMAGE TO THE ENVIRONMENT
In the 1999 Kosovo conflict, Serbian forces poisoned wells and destroyed landscape to incite
Kosovar Albanians to leave their homes. Subsequently, NATO’s bombing campaign also caused
environmental damage.

This marked the world’s greatest efforts to assess

and report upon wartime environmental destruction.
When the conflict ended, the UN Environment Program
developed a taskforce to assess damage.
MILITARY SPENDING
iiiiiThe United States is a significant contributor to
global military spending.

iiiiiThe financial cost of military expenditures is

substantial, consuming a significant portion of a
nation's budget.

iiIIIDeveloping countries often face significant

financial constraints and limited resources for their
national budgets.
ISRAEL & HAMAS CONFLICT

DEATHS: 2,750 Palestinians and 1,400 Israelis

In Gaza, there is significant damage to infrastructure due to Israeli airstrikes, as well as power cuts and
shortages of basic necessities like water, medicine, and fuel

Israel’s declaration of war against Hamas could be a catalyst for deglobalization

Cost of war between Israel and Hamas: $6.8 billion

QUIZ
1. Give one example of a psychological casualty that soldiers often suffer from after war.

2. True or False: The Cold War is among the five conflicts that generated the largest number of
battle deaths from 1946 to 2002.

3. This is the country that sprayed chemical defoliants over Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

4. True or False: Armed conflicts target social capital such as infrastructure, including roads,
bridges, and communication systems.

5. It is the land that was under Israeli occupation after 1967 Six-Day War, and is currently under
the rule of Hamas since 2007.