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The political complexity of attack and defense

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2019

Talbot M. Andrews
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4392. talbot.andrews@stonybrook.edu leonie.Huddy@stonybrook.edureuben.kline@stonybrook.edu hannah.nam@stonybrook.edukatherine.sawyer@stonybrook.eduhttps://you.stonybrook.edu/talbotmandrews/ https://you.stonybrook.edu/leonie/ https://sites.google.com/site/reubenckline/ https://www.hhannahnam.com/
Leonie Huddy
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4392. talbot.andrews@stonybrook.edu leonie.Huddy@stonybrook.edureuben.kline@stonybrook.edu hannah.nam@stonybrook.edukatherine.sawyer@stonybrook.eduhttps://you.stonybrook.edu/talbotmandrews/ https://you.stonybrook.edu/leonie/ https://sites.google.com/site/reubenckline/ https://www.hhannahnam.com/
Reuben Kline
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4392. talbot.andrews@stonybrook.edu leonie.Huddy@stonybrook.edureuben.kline@stonybrook.edu hannah.nam@stonybrook.edukatherine.sawyer@stonybrook.eduhttps://you.stonybrook.edu/talbotmandrews/ https://you.stonybrook.edu/leonie/ https://sites.google.com/site/reubenckline/ https://www.hhannahnam.com/
H. Hannah Nam
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4392. talbot.andrews@stonybrook.edu leonie.Huddy@stonybrook.edureuben.kline@stonybrook.edu hannah.nam@stonybrook.edukatherine.sawyer@stonybrook.eduhttps://you.stonybrook.edu/talbotmandrews/ https://you.stonybrook.edu/leonie/ https://sites.google.com/site/reubenckline/ https://www.hhannahnam.com/
Katherine Sawyer
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4392. talbot.andrews@stonybrook.edu leonie.Huddy@stonybrook.edureuben.kline@stonybrook.edu hannah.nam@stonybrook.edukatherine.sawyer@stonybrook.eduhttps://you.stonybrook.edu/talbotmandrews/ https://you.stonybrook.edu/leonie/ https://sites.google.com/site/reubenckline/ https://www.hhannahnam.com/

Abstract

De Dreu and Gross's distinction between attack and defense is complicated in real-world conflicts because competing leaders construe their position as one of defense, and power imbalances place status quo challengers in a defensive position. Their account of defense as vigilant avoidance is incomplete because it avoids a reference to anger which transforms anxious avoidance into collective and unified action.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

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