Human Nature and the Causes of War

Human Nature and the Causes of War
ISBN-10
3319771671
ISBN-13
9783319771670
Category
Political Science
Pages
293
Language
English
Published
2018-04-07
Publisher
Springer
Author
John David Orme

Description

What are the causes of war? Wars are generally begun by a revisionist state seeking to take territory. The psychological root of revisionism is the yearning for glory, honor and power. Human nature is the primary cause of war, but political regimes can temper or intensify these passions. This book examines the effects of six types of regime on foreign policy: monarchy, republic and sultanistic, charismatic, and military and totalitarian dictatorship. Dictatorships encourage and unleash human ambition, and are thus the governments most likely to begin ill-considered wars. Classical realism, modified to incorporate the impact of regimes and beliefs, provides a more convincing explanation of war than neo-realism.

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