Causes of war : power and the roots of conflict / Stephen Van Evera.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Van Evera, Stephen.

Series:

Cornell Studies in Security Affairs Series

Cornell studies in security affairs

Cornell Studies in Security Affairs

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

War.

Balance of power.

International relations--Case studies.

International relations.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (279 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 1999.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

What causes war? How can military conflicts best be prevented? In this book, Stephen Van Evera frames five conditions that increase the risk of interstate war: false optimism about the likely outcome of a war, a first-strike advantage, fluctuation in the relative power of states, circumstances that allow nations to parlay one conquest into another, and circumstances that make conquest easy.According to Van Evera, all but one of these conditions-false optimism-rarely occur today, but policymakers often erroneously believe in their existence. He argues that these misperceptions are responsible for many modern wars, and explores both World Wars, the Korean War, and the 1967 Mideast War as test cases. Finally, he assesses the possibility of nuclear war by applying all five hypotheses to its potential onset. Van Evera's book demonstrates that ideas from the Realist paradigm can offer strong explanations for international conflict and valuable prescriptions for its control.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Tables and Diagrams

Acknowledgments

1. Introduction

2. False Optimism: illusions of the Coming War

3. Jumping the Gun: First-Move Advantages and Crisis Instability

4. Power Shifts: Windows of Opportunity and Vulnerability

5. Cumulative Resources

6. Offense, Defense, and the Security Dilemma

7. Offense-Defense Theory and the Outbreak of World War I

8. The Nuclear Revolution and the Causes of War

9. Conclusion

Appendix: Hypotheses on Power and the Causes of War

Index

Notes:

Includes index.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher.

ISBN:

9780801467189

0801467187

9781322504513

1322504512

9780801467196

0801467195

OCLC:

828738006