ABSTRACT
The recording and analyzing of wars seems a rather thankless task of cataloging information. More than bookkeeping, however, it serves the dual goals of clarifying crucial social processes and developing practical research programs for the study of war and peace. The end of the murderous Second World War released an outpouring of hope for world peace. The end of the East-West conflict in 1990 raised similar euphoric hopes for a world without war. Ethical considerations tend to focus on the intensity of war and therefore on the victims of wars, yet this too encounters immense difficulties. It is hardly surprising to find almost as many war lists as there are researchers. Much intensive research and discussion is needed before standard definitions emerge and are accepted as a basis for scientific understanding. For reasons of space people forgo in-depth engagement with other authors’ criteria.
