4 WAR CONFLICTS AFTER THE FALL OF SOCIALISM - HISTORY - 2025

During the course of history, various armed conflicts have occurred after the fall of socialism in different countries. These conflicts are usually civil wars, but some countries have come to take up arms due to territorial differences.

Despite this, not all of these conflicts have been directly related to the end of socialist governments: the social divisions caused by regimes of this type often generate problems that explode in warfare, whether in the long or short term.

Source: es.m.wikipedia.org

For example, the division of the Soviet Union redefined the territorial distribution of the countries that comprised it. In 1991, when the USSR fell, Crimea separated from Russia. This led to the armed confrontation for the domain of the territory between Ukraine and Russia, which broke out in 2014.

Socialism is a political ideology that is directly opposed to capitalism. It has Karl Marx as its main exponent, although many of the socialist governments of the world are not based on the Marxist model, but on derivatives of it.

Although the original socialism did not directly address the repression against the people, many of the socialist governments have resorted to it to stay in power.

Albanian Civil War of 1997

From 1946 to 1992, Albania was a socialist state, officially called the People's Republic of Albania. During those years, governments were motivated by Marxist-Leninist ideology and administered by a single party.

In addition, it became one of the most difficult countries to visit, due to strict government immigration measures for approximately 47 years.

As time passed, the economic, political and social situation deteriorated significantly, resulting in an uprising among groups in society.

Finally, in 1992, the Socialists were defeated by the Democratic Party, for which they immediately adopted new economic and administrative systems. The new systems, called "pyramid investment schemes" (or Ponzi schemes), caused the population to lose huge amounts of money.

From there, thousands of Albanians demanded from the new government the immediate refund of their money. The socialist party took advantage of the civil unrest to try to perpetuate itself in power again.

Many armed civilians, who had lost property and money, joined the Socialists in a war against the Democrats, the Albanian police and part of the Republican Guard.

The entire Albanian territory was declared at war, until a UN security council intervened as one of the measures to restore order in the country.

Libyan War of 2014

Between 1977 and 2011, Libya officially became a socialist state after the proclamation of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, who ruled the country since 1969. Gaddafi became known as "Brother Leader and Guide of the Revolution", with a dictatorial stance and authoritarian.

During Gaddafi's stay in power, Libya faced a period of internal conflicts and wars with other nations. The socialist government classified the western world as "encouraging terrorism." Several cities in Libya were even bombed by the United States.

However, in 2011, a group of the Libyan population demonstrated against Gaddafi; his authoritarian stance had caused serious discomfort in the population. Gaddafi cruelly repressed the protesters through air strikes. That same year the death of Gaddafi and the end of socialism were announced.

The 2014 Libyan war is currently raging between rival faction groups that played a pivotal role in the overthrow of Gaddafi. All of them now seek control of the country's territory and oil.

Sirte, the hometown of Gaddafi, is currently the hiding place of many jihadists (Islamic group). Since 2015, the United States has intervened with airstrikes to defend the country against these forces, many of them belonging to the Islamic State.

On the other hand, two parallel governments were created: the faction that had lost remained in Tripoli, the capital of the country. The other party (elected by the people) was established in a nearby city.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2014

Before the disintegration of the Soviet Union (as a socialist state), Ukraine was part of one of the 15 republics of the Union, from 1922 to 1991. Over the years, Ukraine's borders have undergone various changes; one of them was the addition of Crimea in 1954.

However, in 2014, Russia arbitrarily annexed the Crimean peninsula. From that moment, tensions began between the two nations. That same year, the Russian government made the decision to invade Ukraine in order to impose Russian autonomy in various regions of the country.

The current president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, said that diplomacy was not enough to solve the problem and that he had to use force against the neighboring country.

From that decision, Russia declared war on Ukraine. The rest of Europe, naturally, did not support the Russian decision to war.

In fact, both Europe and the United States decided to threaten Russia with a series of sanctions if they continued to intervene in Ukraine. Currently the conflict has not stopped; Russia has remained firm in its position and the conflict between the two nations is still alive, with no apparent near end.

Algerian civil war

In 1986, Algeria adopted a new Constitution with the aim of developing an Islamic socialism. However, at the end of the following year, one-party socialist politics went into sudden decline.

The country's economy depended solely on the sale of oil at high prices. That year, a barrel fell from US $ 30 to US $ 10, causing a drop in the country's economy.

This resulted in a sharp deterioration in the purchasing power of citizens. Additionally, unemployment and shortages plagued the country.

The Civil War began in 1991 when the socialist government decided to cancel the elections, as they realized that their opponents would defeat them in the last electoral round. The armed conflict began that year between the Algerian government and Islamist rebel groups.

Between the two groups, more than 180,000 people were killed, many of them journalists and civilians. The conflict ended with the victory of the Algerian government, after the Islamic army surrendered in 2002.

References

1. The Russian invasion of Ukraine, Portal La Nación, (2014). Taken from nacion.com
2. 7 questions to understand the chaos Libia became, Portal Semana (2016). Taken from Semana.com
3. Libyan Civil Wars (2014 - present), Wikipedia in English, (nd). Taken from wikipedia.org
4. Conflict between Russia and Ukraine: why the Sea of ​​Azov is the last source of tension between the two countries, BBC Portal, (2018). Taken from bbc.com
5. A covert civil war, Marta Arroyo, (nd). Taken from elmundo.es