Statements and Counter-statements: Why do States Lie during War Times?

Description

Page: 280-284

Garima Mani Tripathi (Department of Philosophy, Mata Sundri College for Women, University of Delhi, New Delhi)

Human beings lie since it part of the human nature. But surprisingly, even the state, considered as the highest expression of human beings, resort to lies. All states lie from time to time. States think and behave as rational actors in the same manner as individuals are supposed to behave. While lies are generally avoided when states have normal course of relations with their neighbours, they are more prevalent and used as a frequent tool in state policies when states are at war with their neighbours or have conflictual relations with them. Leaders and statesmen from the rival states compete in the politics of lies and falsehood to belittle the rival party and boost the morale of their own countrymen and armed forces. The paper studies the very concept of lies from a philosophical perspective and tries to understand why states regularly indulge in the politics of lies while dealing with hostile neighbour(s). For the purpose of this paper, this paper briefly considers some macro lies in the wars involving India and its neighbours: the Sino Indian War of 1962; the India Pakistan War of 1965 and 1971; the Kargil War of 1999; and the Galwan crisis involving China and India in 2020. The singular justification for taking up these wars as case studies lies in the fact that all of them are old wars and the de-classified materials are available in most cases. The discussions in the paper amply reflect that states indulge in the politics of statements and counter-statements to uphold their own position as being upright vis-à-vis the hostile neighbour. They see conflicts and the resultant wars from their own national perspectives that is coloured by their own national interests and positioning against their neighbour(s). In the process, they reflect a behavioural trend that is reminiscent and extension of human behaviour.