Social Studies/Y4/International Conflict

International Conflict occurs due serious disagreements between States due to the differences in opinions, preferences, needs and interests.

International conflict need not be in a state of violence.

Causes of Conflict

 * When countries feel that they cannot assert their national sovereignty.
 * When countries feel that their existence or survival is threatened.
 * A conflict is caused by a culmination of causes, but certain causes are more prevalent

Types of Conflict
There are usually three forms of International Conflict, respectively:
 * 1) Economic
 * 2) Territorial
 * 3) Ideological

Economic Conflict

 * Limited amount of natural resources in terms of, for example, land, are unevenly distributed.


 * Dispute in Economic interests lead to conflict when countries feel that their economic welfare or survival is threatened, or the economic interest in dispute is significant for economic growth.

Background

 * Dispute over seafood as a resource in the North Atlantic Ocean


 * In 1958, a new Icelandic law expanded the Icelandic fishing zone from 8km to 23km. Subsequently, over the next 20 years, this increased to 370km.


 * The British did not acknowledge this change and continued sending fishing ships into Iceland’s self-proclaimed waters.


 * Led to conflict between Great Britain and Iceland, in some cases violent.

Significance

 * Fishing is vital to the economy of both countries, contributing an estimate of 800 million pounds a year to British Economy and over 300 billion ISK in Iceland.


 * Especially in Iceland which economy is built on exports.


 * With a lack of other economically viable resources, Iceland's population, particularly in the 1960s, were almost exclusively dependent on fishing as a source of income.


 * Without which, economic growth will be greatly hindered and threaten its survival.


 * In the latter part of the 19th Century, fishing ability increased exponentially, made possible by steam-powered engines. This lead to the problem of overfishing and great pressure was exerted on fishermen to exploit new waters to maintain this source of income.


 * Iceland was, however, sharing the Atlantic Ocean as a fishing ground and its limited seafood population with Great Britain.


 * By expanding its fishing territory without prior counsel with Great Britain, Iceland was trespassing into the traditional fishing zone of the British, who were only slight less, if not as dependent on the seafood industry.


 * The British saw the declining of resources due to Iceland’s exploits as a hindrance to its own economic growth, and potentially a threat to its survival coupled with indications of a deteriorating economy.
 * Went into conflict with Iceland to protect economic welfare.