Discussion Questions for 16 March

1. This week we finish up misperceptions and war with a discussion of the Spiral and Deterrence Models. Please refer to last week's questions on this topic.



2. Many have argued that the Anglo-French Seven Years War was primarily an accidental or inadvertent war. Do you agree with this characterization? What is the evidence in support of this argument? What exactly do we mean by "inadvertent" war?



3. What seems to be the primary source(s) of misperceptions on the eve of the Seven Years War? Does the evidence point primarily to psychological, organizational, or "cozenological" sources of misperception?



4. Weigh the various causes of the Seven Years War presented in lecture and the reading. Which do you think is the most important cause? What equally, or more, important causes, if any, do you think have been overlooked?

Mercantilism
War of Austrian Succession
Treaty of Aix-la-Chappelle
Gen. Braddock
Admiral Boscawen
Gov. Dinwiddie
Gov. Shirley
Gov. Duquesne
Fort Necessity
The Ohio Company
Inadvertent war