Editing Civil war (section)

=== In the 19th and early 20th centuries ===
[[File:Tykistokoulun harjoiitus.jpg|thumb|An artillery school set up by the anti-socialist "[[Whites (Finland)|Whites]]" during the [[Finnish Civil War]], 1918]]
[[File:Lempäälä Red Guard.jpg|thumb|Members of the [[Red Guards (Finland)|Red Guards]] during the Finnish Civil War of 1918]]
Civil wars in the 19th century and in the early 20th century tended to be short; civil wars between 1900 and 1944 lasted on average one and a half years.{{sfn|Hironaka|2005|p=1}} The state itself formed the obvious center of authority in the majority of cases, and the civil wars were thus fought for control of the state. This meant that whoever had control of the capital and the military could normally crush resistance. A rebellion which failed to quickly seize the capital and control of the military for itself normally found itself doomed to rapid destruction. For example, the fighting associated with the 1871 [[Paris Commune]] occurred almost entirely in [[Paris]], and ended quickly once the military sided with the government{{sfn|Hironaka|2005|pp=28–29}} at Versailles and conquered Paris.

The power of non-state actors resulted in a lower value placed on [[sovereignty]] in the 18th and 19th centuries, which further reduced the number of civil wars. For example, the [[Barbary pirate|pirates]] of the [[Barbary Coast]] were recognized as ''de facto'' states because of their military power. The Barbary pirates thus had no need to rebel against the [[Ottoman Empire]] – their nominal state government – to gain recognition of their sovereignty. Conversely, states such as [[Virginia]] and [[Massachusetts]] in the [[United States|United States of America]] did not have sovereign status, but had significant political and economic independence coupled with weak federal control, reducing the incentive to secede.{{sfn|Hironaka|2005|p=29}}
[[File:Savoia-Marchetti SM.81.jpg|thumb|left|A [[Savoia-Marchetti SM.81|plane]], supported by [[Fiat CR.32|smaller fighter planes]], of [[Kingdom of Italy|Italian]] [[Aviazione Legionaria|Legionary Air Force]], allied to [[Francisco Franco]]'s Nationalists, bombs [[Madrid]] during the [[Spanish Civil War]] (1936–1939)]]
The two major global ideologies, [[monarchism]] and [[democracy]], led to several civil wars. However, a bi-polar world, divided between the two ideologies, did not develop, largely due to the dominance of monarchists through most of the period. The monarchists would thus normally intervene in other countries to stop democratic movements taking control and forming democratic governments, which were seen by monarchists as being both dangerous and unpredictable. The [[Great power|Great Powers]] (defined in the 1815 [[Congress of Vienna]] as the [[United Kingdom]], [[Austrian Empire|Habsburg Austria]], [[Prussia]], [[France]], and [[Russia]]) would frequently coordinate interventions in other nations' civil wars, nearly always on the side of the incumbent government. Given the military strength of the Great Powers, these interventions nearly always proved decisive and quickly ended the civil wars.{{sfn|Hironaka|2005|p=30}}

There were several exceptions from the general rule of quick civil wars during this period. The [[American Civil War]] (1861–1865) was unusual for at least two reasons: it was fought around regional identities as well as political ideologies, and it ended through a [[attrition warfare|war of attrition]], rather than with a decisive battle over control of the capital, as was the norm. The [[Spanish Civil War]] (1936–1939) proved exceptional because ''both'' sides in the struggle received support from intervening great powers: [[Nazi Germany|Germany]], [[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]], and [[Estado Novo (Portugal)|Portugal]] supported opposition leader [[Francisco Franco]], while [[French Third Republic|France]] and the [[Soviet Union]] supported [[Second Spanish Republic|the government]]{{sfn|Hironaka|2005|p=31}} (see [[proxy war]]).