Problem: Do you agree with this Statement?
Absence of war may be used in politics to give the illusion of peace, but the absence of war most certainly does not suggest peace. For example, while referred to as a war in US media, Russia has not labeled its actions against Ukraine as such within their own nation-state, and instead refer to it as a 'special military operation.' Just to state, this is clear propaganda to project the image of peace, and to hide behind their military actions as a peace keeping mission. In the United States, war must be declared by congress. The process for officially being at war will differ per nation-state involvement. However, war-like actions and operations, such as genocide, clearly are not peaceful. Additionally, there exists abstract war, such as the cold war, in which there is an arms race between nations, projecting the anticipation of war among citizenry, giving the tension of war despite the absence of it locally. Particularly in the cold war between Russia and the United States, there was proxy wars held, avoiding direct military conflict between the two super powers, but displaying the conflict between the two nations and allowing it to play out on foreign soil. According to our text, the three major proxy wars that occurred between the US and the Soviet Union were the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. These wars were the result of a desire to create "spheres of influence," spreading each nation-states ideology and influence to different regions of the world, allowing for ease of access to commodities, military positioning, and installment of governments which would create ease of collaboration and alignment with each one's own ideological global plans.