Lesson plan
War hawk
In politics, the terms war hawk and hawk describe a person who favours starting armed conflicts or escalating ongoing ones instead of attempting to solve problems through diplomacy or other nonviolent methods. Hawkish individuals are the opposite of war doves, who advocate negotiations and peaceful settlements to resolve disputes and view the option of going to war as one to be avoided by any means unless absolutely necessary. The terms are derived by historical analogy with the birds of the same name: hawks are predatory birds that attack and eat other animals, whereas doves eat seeds and fruit and are a symbol of peace. Variations of the term include chicken hawk, referring to a person who supports waging war but previously avoided or is actively avoiding military service (i.e., cowardice), and liberal hawk, referring to a person who adheres to passive liberalism in domestic politics while simultaneously having a militaristic and interventionist foreign policy.
Article summary
In politics, the terms war hawk and hawk describe a person who favours starting armed conflicts or escalating ongoing ones instead of attempting to solve problems through diplomacy or other nonviolent methods. Hawkish individuals are the opposite of war doves, who advocate negotiations and peaceful settlements to resolve disputes and view the option of going to war as one to be avoided by any means unless absolutely necessary. The terms are derived by historical analogy with the birds of the same name: hawks are predatory birds that attack and eat other animals, whereas doves eat seeds and fruit and are a symbol of peace. Variations of the term include chicken hawk, referring to a person who supports waging war but previously avoided or is actively avoiding military service (i.e., cowardice), and liberal hawk, referring to a person who adheres to passive liberalism in domestic politics while simultaneously having a militaristic and interventionist foreign policy.
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.