Session 22: War and Peace

“War and Peace” by Jack Levy aims to explain the constant recurrence of war, variations in war and peace, and the origins of particular wars. Since, International relations came to be developed as a field sometime between the two major World Wars it makes sense for it to be obsessed with the issue of War and Peace. The two although cannot coexist they both are essential to the understanding of the international system.

The Realist school believes that the international system is prone to war. The assumption of an anarchic system coupled with the idea that human nature is evil (thus, the main cause of war) coupled with the nature of states highlights the system’s vulnerability. Offensive and defensive leaning of states have also been highlighted to help comprehend the causes of war.

On the other hand Idealists believe when appropriate strategies are employed violence and hence, violence can be significantly reduced. Their main emphasis is upon economic cooperation between states that will lead to more pacific relations. The WTO for instance is a forum that unites countries based on their interdependence. This very interdependence has proved to be a major reason why countries brought together through trade prefer cooperation over war. Liberalists have also coined the democratic peace theory according to which democracies are less likely to fight one another.

As theories put forward by both the major schools of thought are more or less flawed, Jack Levy proposes the Multimethod to analyze the prevention of war. This approach incorporates ideas from both realism and liberalism.