Conflict

People do not want to fight. It's as simple as that. Even if you're brought up with a mentality or necessity for fighting, as a human in the 21st century I don't think it's an integral part of our DNA anymore. I understand that at a fundamental level we are hardwired to fight for food, territory, a mate, etc. Today though, besides for the sport of it (an entirely different concept in my mind) it's just something most people don't want to involve themselves in. People adhere to the status quo, we accept the rules and norms that are before us. Yes, this is a societal role that is controlling this portion of our life, but I think people accept it because it is "civilized". I think this same mentality is extended to states and their government's. Strong powers know they have the capabilities to fight off most enemies, but they don't. Why not? Because they don't want to cause unnecessary harm or destruction. Due to the fact that we're "civilized" now we can use our minds to fight for us. Our words are just as powerful, if not more so, than our actions. So diplomacy is on the forefront of this modern era of war and conflict. Though it may be lengthier than the former, I do think this is a more appropriate way to handle any problems.
As discussed in class, the concept of a "flashpoint" does seem relevant though. People can be pushed over the edge, they can be manipulated or lied to. Oftentimes most people do not react with violence right away, & this is where these "flashpoints" come in to play. It is  a buildup of tension between two opposing sides, and then an event occurs causing the tension to boil over resulting in (usually) war. A couple examples of this are the September 11th attacks or the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand which was the catalyst for WWI.
The neoconservative doctrine is another topic covered in class, but a controversial one at that. It states that as the global hegemon it is the duty of the United States to identify any enemy states and preemptively attack. Personally, I don't think this is what we as a country need to be doing. Put bluntly, our enemies are not the rest of the world's enemies. We have one idea of what we consider evil, but other countries with different societal norms, say China, may have a different idea of what is wrong. I understand the need for not wanting to wait for our enemy to attack us on our soil, but there is way to go about handling situations like this; it needs to be taken care of case by case.