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Causes of War: Power and the Roots of Conflict. By Stephen Van Evera. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1999. 270p. $35.00

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  • Stam, Allan C.

Abstract

Stephen Van Evera explicitly sets out to accomplish two tasks. The first is to present a set of five hypotheses on the causes of war grounded in "misperceptive fine-grained struc- tural realism" (p. 11). He lists (1) false optimism about the outcome of a future war, (2) perceived first-mover advan- tages, (3) opening and closing windows of opportunity and vulnerability, (4) cumulativity of resources, and (5) beliefs about the offense-defense balance. He then develops 23 related hypotheses. The second task is to test some of the major hypotheses (the second, third, and fifth) against a small set of cases. He succeeds at the first task but is not so successful at the latter. He also briefly speculates on the effects of the "nuclear revolution."

Suggested Citation

  • Stam, Allan C., 2001. "Causes of War: Power and the Roots of Conflict. By Stephen Van Evera. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1999. 270p. $35.00," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 95(1), pages 265-266, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:apsrev:v:95:y:2001:i:01:p:265-266_90
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