Why Nations Fight : Past and Future Motives for War
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| Title: | Why Nations Fight : Past and Future Motives for War |
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| Description: | Four generic motives have historically led states to initiate war: fear, interest, standing, and revenge. Using an original data set, Richard Ned Lebow examines the distribution of wars across three and a half centuries and argues that, contrary to conventional wisdom, only a minority of these were motivated by security or material interest. Instead, the majority are the result of a quest for standing, and for revenge - an attempt to get even with states who had previously made successful territorial grabs. Lebow maintains that today none of these motives are effectively served by war - it is increasingly counterproductive - and that there is growing recognition of this political reality. His analysis allows for more fine-grained and persuasive forecasts about the future of war as well as highlighting areas of uncertainty. |
| Authors: | Richard Ned Lebow |
| Resource Type: | eBook. |
| Subjects: | War--Causes |
| Categories: | HISTORY / Wars & Conflicts / General, TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING / Military Science |
| Database: | eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) |
| Abstract: | Four generic motives have historically led states to initiate war: fear, interest, standing, and revenge. Using an original data set, Richard Ned Lebow examines the distribution of wars across three and a half centuries and argues that, contrary to conventional wisdom, only a minority of these were motivated by security or material interest. Instead, the majority are the result of a quest for standing, and for revenge - an attempt to get even with states who had previously made successful territorial grabs. Lebow maintains that today none of these motives are effectively served by war - it is increasingly counterproductive - and that there is growing recognition of this political reality. His analysis allows for more fine-grained and persuasive forecasts about the future of war as well as highlighting areas of uncertainty. |
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| ISBN: | 9780521192835 9780511918483 |
