Man, the State, and War: A Theoretical Analysis

by Kenneth Waltz, Stephen M. Walt (Foreword by)

Overview

What are the causes of war? How might the world be made more peaceful? In this landmark work of international relations theory, first published in 1959, the eminent realist scholar Kenneth N. Waltz offers a foundational analysis of the nature of conflict between states. He explores works by both classic political philosophers, such as St. Augustine, Hobbes, Kant, and Rousseau, and modern psychologists and anthropologists to discover ideas intended to explain war among states and related prescriptions for peace. Waltz influentially distinguishes among three “images” of the origins of war: those that blame individual leaders or human nature, those rooted in states’ internal composition, and those concerning the structure of the international system. With a foreword by Stephen M. Walt on the legacy and continued relevance of Waltz’s work, this anniversary edition brings new life to a perennial international relations classic.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231188050
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	12/11/2018
Edition description:	anniversary edition
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Kenneth N. Waltz is a recipient of the James Madison Award for distinguished scholarly contributions to political science from the American Political Science Association. He is Ford Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, and is now at the Institute of War and Peace Studies at Columbia University. He is the author of Foreign Policy and Democratic Politics, Theory of International Politics, and coauthor of The Spread of Nuclear Weapons.

Table of Contents

Foreword to the 2018 Anniversary Edition, by Stephen M. Walt
Preface to the 2001 Edition
Preface to the 1959 Edition
1. Introduction
2. The First Image: International Conflict and Human Behavior
3. Some Implications of the First Image: The Behavioral Sciences and the Reduction of Interstate Violence
4. The Second Image: International Conflict and the Internal Structure of States
5. Some Implications of the Second Image: International Socialism and the Coming of the First World War
6. The Third Image: International Conflict and International Anarchy
7. Some Implications of the Third Image: Examples from Economics, Politics, and History
8. Conclusion
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

It is fortunate that Waltz is not merely a qualified political theorist but also an able student of international politics with a command of the contemporary literature and of the raw data on the subject. He is thus able intellectually to analyze the contributions of the political philosophers and to assess their relevance and adequacy for understanding the real world of international politics.

American Political Science Review

In this thoughtful inquiry into the views of classical political theory on the nature and causes of war, Professor Waltz follows three principal themes or images: war as a consequence of the nature and behavior of man, as an outcome of their internal organization of states, and as a product of international anarchy.

Foreign Affairs

[A] thoughtful inquiry into the views of classical political theory on the nature and causes of war.

Foreign

<:st>Reprint of the 1959 original, cited in , with a new four page preface. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

Despite the changes in the world, the text stands as a classic effort to explain why men and nations fight.

Military Review