Feb. 10, 2000 // 17.423 // Cramer, Gabbitas & Goldstone

THEORIES OF THE CAUSES OF WAR: "Levels of Analysis" (cont’d)


  1. The State
    1. Democratic v. Authoritarian: Are democracies more peaceful?
    2. Capitalism and Imperialism: Does capitalism cause imperialism?
    3. The Business Cycle: Good times and Bad times: do economic swings cause war?
    4. Power, Size and Development: Large powerful states are involved in more wars--why?
    5. Population: Lebensraum ("living space")--do population pressures cause war?
    6. Borders: Border conflicts cause lots of wars! Why are there conflicts?
    7. Internal Conflict
      1. The Scapegoat Theory
      2. "Kick them While they’re down" Wars or "Death Watch Wars"
      3. Revolutionary States
    8. War weariness: when states are tired of war, there is less war
    9. Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict; Culture and Religion: more reasons for war--what can be done?
  1. Between the State and the System
    1. Interactions between states as causes of war?
      1. Arms Racing
      2. Tit for Tat and other strategies.
      V.  The International System
    1. Definitions:
      1. Anarchy, Power and the System
      2. Realpolitik, Balance of Power
      3. Alliances and "Balance of Threat" theory
    2. Polarity: unipolar, bipolar, multipolar: what system is most stable?
    3. Power transition theories: wars happen when states change "position"--when a state becomes powerful enough to "challenge the leader"
    4. Cycle theories: war is fate (almost)