The Quantitative Study of International Conflict: Quantity and Quality? An Assessment of Empirical Research

Abstract

This article presents and discusses a number of empirical findings from quantitative research on the cause of war. To understand war, in particular, requires an understanding of inter national conflict in general. Hence, the article first examines the theoretical contribution of quantitative research to the conceptualization of international conflict. It is argued that research on international conflict should try to reconcile two seemingly opposite approaches, the event interaction approach and the war approach. Furthermore, the various research findings are briefly summarized within a broad conceptual framework, and the variety of research efforts are critically evaluated.