PRETEXTS AS THE MOTIVES FOR TRIGGERING ARMED CONFLICTS AND STATES PARTICIPATION

The causes of armed conflicts are a subject of constant interest to the social sciences. This has resulted in many theories and findings regarding the selection of different criteria in determining conflict-triggering factors. In international practice, states decide to declare war citing reasons connected with the state or vital national interests. Sometimes, the true motivations for the use of force are hidden. The history of armed conflicts includes many cases of using contrived pretexts or outright lies to start a war. External circumstances which were beyond the control of the state starting the war and which did not depend on the state’s will and actions have beenused as pretexts. Some of the pretexts, however, were deliberately fabricated to justify and explain military operations. States taking advantage of pretexts to use force can be observed from the time of the Trojan War to the attack on Iraq in 2003. Among the countries using pretexts to start a war, the superpowers occupy the leading position – they claim higher purposes, despite the fact that there are no objective criteria upon which to establish their superiority over the conventions of morality and international law.