This book constructs a new scientific explanation of the onset and expansion of war and the conditions of peace. The author describes systematically those factors common to wars between equal states to see if there is a pattern that suggests why war occurs, and how it might be avoided or mitigated, delineating the typical path by which relatively equal states have become embroiled in wars with one another in the modern global system. Emphasis is placed on the issues that give rise to war and how the practices of power politics lead to a series of steps that produce war rather than peace. The book differs from others in that it employs the large number of empirical findings generated in the last twenty-five years as the basis of its theorizing, and integrates these research findings so as to advance dramatically the scientific knowledge of war and peace.
• Analysis of the causes of war and the conditions for peace • Draws on the empirical research of the last 25 years into war to give a scientific basis to theory; no other book uses empirical data in this way • John Vasquez is a well-known and respected figure, whose name will ensure interest in the field. Member of series board
Contents
Part I. Preliminaries: Introduction; 1. Conceptualizing war; 2. Types of war; 3. Power politics and war; Part II. The Onset and Expansion of Wars of Rivalry: 4. Territorial continuity as a source of conflict leading to war; 5. The realist road to war; 6. The domestic prerequisites of wars of rivalry; 7. Explaining world war: its scope, severity, and duration; 8. Peace; 9. Conclusion.
Reviews
‘A valuable contribution to the extensive literature on the origins of war.’ Archives
‘[Vasquez] has produced an immensely rich, thoughtful and stimulating explanation of war and peace … he has led the reader over a long distance on a narrow but firm path through the fog of war and the torch he is bearing may yet point further research in the right direction. The War Puzzle … is a highly recommendable book.’ Arms Control
‘This is a book that L. F. Richardson would have read with scientific interest and admiration for the many accomplishments that have taken place in the half-century since his pathbreaking work. It provides a challenging standard for the growth of scientific understanding of war.’ Claudio Cioffi-Revilla, American Political Science Review
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