Session 22: War and Peace

Jack Levy’s piece War and Peace is an over-all explanation of the causes and conditions of war and peace (As the title suggests.) He analysis the conditions of both in detail using multiple models/perspectives. The main focus however remains on the realist and liberal perspectives. His motives for writing this piece, were not just to provide a comprehensive guide on the conditions of war but to show how multiple methods and approaches are vital in further understanding these phenomenas. 

Levy begins with the predominant realist school. Being a student of IR we all know that the Realist school has a lot to say about War. Classical realist believe that war is inevitable due to the very nature of man. Neo or Structural realists on the other hand, believe that anarchy in the international system should be held responsible for the atrocity that is war. The author further discusses defensive realism and offensive realism thus complicating the realist perspective for the better. 

Levy then goes on to discuss the conditions of war and peace through the liberal lens. We’re all familiar with liberalism’s stress on economic interdependence, trade and institutions. The author provides a comprehensive account of these ideas.

Levy provides a comprehensive guide to refresh what we have learnt about the realist and liberal schools of thought in international relations. As much as I like to jog my memory, on the back of my head I kept on thinking, “Are we actually back to square one? Are you serious?” What made up for this however was his conclusion. Levy in his conclusion proposes that to understand the complexity that is war and peace, we must use a multi method approach. This type of approach also has his flaws but one can’t deny that it is better than strictly following one school of thought to understand what goes on.