History glossary
Civil war
a war fought between groups within the same state or political community.
- Category
- Conflict type
What it means
Civil wars happen when internal conflicts over power, territory, identity, rights, religion, or ideology become violent. The English, American, Russian, Spanish, Chinese, and Yugoslav conflicts all show different forms of civil war.
Related terms
Stories using this term
The Opium Wars
From the Canton System to the fall of Beijing, the Opium Wars turned illegal trade, imperial power and Qing weakness into a new unequal treaty order.
The Meiji Restoration
From Tokugawa order to imperial restoration, conscription, industrialisation and military victory, the Meiji era transformed Japan into a modern imperial power.
Apartheid South Africa
From white minority rule to mass resistance, Mandela's release and the first democratic election, apartheid reshaped South Africa and the world.
The Rise of Islam
From Muhammad's first revelations to the early caliphates, Islam grew from a Meccan message into a civilisation spanning Africa, Asia and Europe.
The Roman Empire
From Augustus to the fall of the Western Empire, Rome built a vast imperial system whose law, cities, armies and ideas shaped the ancient and medieval worlds.
The Roman Republic
From the expulsion of Rome’s kings to the rise of Augustus, the Roman Republic built a powerful mixed constitution, expanded across the Mediterranean, and ultimately collapsed into civil war and one-man rule.
The American Revolution and Early Republic
From colonial tensions to independence, this traces the birth and early struggles of the United States of America.
The Cold War
Rivalry between East and West shapes global politics - through proxy wars, propaganda, and nuclear tension.
