The Falkland War Analysis

Introduction

On April 2, 1982, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands to settle a centuries-old dispute with Great Britain regarding the ownership of the islands. The Falkland Islands are made up out of two large islands, East- and West Falkland. Together with approximately 200 smaller islands, the Falklands cover around 4,600 square miles. The Falklands main landscape is that of hilly grasslands, and the economy is primarily based on sheep herding. At the time of the invasion the estimated Island’s population was 1,800 people in total. The Falklands seem an odd place to fight a war over, but nevertheless it happened in 1982. The main question is how this conflict, dating back to Britain’s colonial history, could result in an armed conflict?

This essay will focus on the causation of the Falkland War looking at a well-known book discussing the causes of war by Kenneth Waltz, Man, the State and War. In this book Kenneth Waltz’s reviews modern and historical approaches in order to understand the causes of international armed conflict. Waltz discusses three images referred to as the different ‘levels of analysis’ that describes the underlying reasons for war. Firstly human nature, secondly a State’s internal structure and thirdly the international system. These levels of analysis may be used to study causes or background information on any issue in politics, warfare and conflict. This essay will focus on how these three images can be applied in order to understand the causation of the Falklands War. In order to apply the general theory of Waltz later on in this essay, the ‘levels of analysis’ will be discussed with more detail. Furthermore, the paper will provide a brief case study explanation about the Falkland War. What is more, the different ‘levels of analysis’ will be applied to the causes of the Falkland War. Eventually this paper will

Both Anaya and Galtieri saw Argentina’s economy stagnating and social unrest becoming a serious threat to the Junta Government. The government’s policies led to an enormous growth of civil and commercial bankruptcies, high unemployment and a growing Argentine national debt. Galtieri and Anaya hoped that a short military success on the Falklands would increase the popularity of the Junta among its people. Furthermore, Galtiery saw a quick military success as a chance to show Argentina’s supremacy to the world. Eventually, Galtieri and Anaya made a pact, agreeing that Anaya would support Galtieri’s coup. In return Galtieri would allow Anaya to exercise his invasion strategy for the Falklands (source 97). On April 2, 1982, with the support of Admiral Anaya and Brigadier General Dozo, Galtieri successfully became president of Argentina via a coup. Looking at Waltz’s first level of analysis one could state that the three most powerful Argentines played a major role in the start of the Falkland War. All of them had their own reasons to support the idea of an invasion. Galtieri hoped that a successful military reclaim of the Falkland would strengthen his control over the government and consequently Argentina. Anaya wanted to put his strategy in to practice to gain a military victory. Dozo saw the war as a necessity for the