Comparative research on the causes of war not only plays a minor role in the Social Sciences but is also rather one sided because of the dominance of quantitative methods. These methods are very important, but up to now the cumulative effects of such research have been rather small, and their usefulness for practical peace policy seems negligible. This regrettable state of research is mainly due to the fact that it is not based on a systematic frame of reference offering substantial categories for analysis.
This article presents the draft of a research project aiming at the construction of such a frame of reference. Following a societal approach and using the ideas and methods of historical sociology, social history, and political economics, we intend to make case studies of 13 international wars between 1920 and 1965 and to compare their results. The provisional guide-line for the case studies and their comparison starts with the following main categories: the interests for war, and the groups or classes representing these interests; the socio- economic structure in which the interests are rooted; the political structure through which the interests are carried out; the military apparatus as the instrument for action.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Abel, Theodore, 1941. The Element of Decision in the Pattern of Wars . In: American Sociological Review, vol. 6, 853-859.
2.
Bremer, Stuart A., 1978. The Powerful and the War Prone: Relative National Capability and War Experience, 1820-1965. Publication no. PV/ 78-20 of the International Institute for Comparative Social Research, WissenschaftszentrumBerlin.
3.
Deutsch, Karl W., 1973. Der Stand der Kriegsursachenforschung. Vortrag anlässlich der konstituierenden Sitzung des Konzils der Friedensforscher am 1. Dezember 1972 in Bonn. DGFK-Hefte no. 2, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Friedensund Konfliktforschung (DGFK), Bonn.
4.
Deutsch, Karl W. and Senghaas, Dieter , 1970. Die Schritte zum Krieg. Systemebenen, Entscheidungsstadien, Forschungsergebnisse. In: Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte, no. B47/70,
5.
Beilage zu 'Das Parlament', 21. November 1970.
6.
Eberwein, Wolf-Dieter, 1981. The Quantitative Study of International Conflict: Quantity and Quality? An Assessment of Empirical Research. In: J. of Peace Research (this issue).
7.
Gantzel, Klaus Jürgen, 1972. System und Akteur. Beiträge zur vergleichenden Kriegsursachenforschung . Düsseldorf: Bertelsmann Universitätsverlag .
8.
Gibbs, Norman H., Wolfe, Thomas W. and Kernig, Claus D ., 1969. Krieg. In: Sowjetsystem und demokratische Gesellschaft. Eine vergleichende Enzyklopädie , vol. III, ed. C. D. Kernig. Freiburg - Basel - Wien: Herder, pp. 1026-1088.
9.
Haas, Michael, 1974: International Conflict. Indianapolis - New York: Bobbs-Merrill.
10.
Hahlweg, Werner, 1954. Lenin und Clausewitz. Ein Beitrag zur politischen Ideengeschichte des 20. Jahrhunderts. In: Archiv fiir Kulturgeschichte , vol. 36, 30-59 and 357-387.
11.
Kende, Istvàn, 1971. Twenty-five Years of Local Wars: In: J. of Peace Research, vol. 8, no. 1, 5-22.
12.
Kende, Istvàn, 1978. Wars of Ten Years (1978) In: J. of Peace Research, vol. 15, no. 3, 227-242.
13.
Krippendorff, Ekkehart, 1977: Internationale Beziehungen als Wissenschaft. Einführung 2. Frankfurt - New York: Campus .
14.
Leitenberg, Milton, et al., 1977. A Survey of Studies of Post World War II Wars, Conflicts, and Military Coups. Paper presented to the Symposium: Armament, Tension, and War. Nordic Cooperation Committee for International Politics. Hanaholm/Finland, September 26-28, 1977.
15.
Levi, Werner, 1960. On the Causes of War and the Conditions of Peace . In: J. of Conflict Resolution, vol. 4, no. 4, 411-420 (quoted here from the German translation in: Friedensforschung, ed. Ekkehart Krippendorff, Köln - Berlin. Kiepenheuer & Witsch, 1968, 181-194).
16.
Lider, Julian, 1977. On the Nature of War. Farnborough, Hants.: Saxon House.
17.
Lider, Julian, 1979. The Political and Military Laws of War. An Analysis of Marxist-Leninist Concepts. Farnborough, Hants .: Saxon House.
18.
McGowan, Patrick J. and Shapiro, Howard B. , 1973. The Comparative Study of Foreign Policy. A. Survey of Scientific Findings. Beverly Hills: SAGE Publ.
19.
Renn, Ludwig = pseudonym of Arnold FriedrichVieth von Golssenau, 1939. Warfare. The Relation of War to Society. Reprint 1971, Freeport, N.Y.: Books for Libraries Press.
20.
Richardson, Lewis F., 1960. Statistics of Deadly Quarrels, ed. Quincy Wright/C. C. Lienau. Pittsburgh - Chicago: Boxwood Press - Quadrangle Books.
21.
Rummel, R.J., 1979. Understanding Conflict and War, vol. 4: War, Power, Peace . Beverly Hills London: SAGE Publ.
22.
Senghaas, Dieter, 1977. Weltwirtschaftsordnung und Entwicklungspolitik. Plädoyer für Dissoziation. Frankfurt/Main: Suhrkamp.
23.
Singer, J. David, 1958. Threat Perception and the Armament-Tension Dilemma . In: J. of Conflict Resolution, vol. 2, 90-105.
24.
Singer, J. David and Small, Melvin, 1972. The Wages of War, 1816-1965. A Statistical Handbook . New York: J. Wiley.
25.
Singer, J. David and Jones, Susan, 1972. Beyond Conjecture in International Politics: Abstracts of Databased Research. Ithaca, Ill.: Peacock Publ.
26.
Singer, J. David, 1981. Accounting for International War: The State of the Discipline . In: J. of Peace Research (this issue).
27.
Singer, J. David, et al., 1979a. Explaining War. Select Papers from the Correlates of War Project. Beverly Hills - London: SAGE Publ.
28.
Singer, J. David, 1979b. The Correlates of War, vol. 1: Research Origins and Rationale. West Drayton, Middlesex: Collier Macmillan.
29.
Singer, J. David, 1980. The Correlates of War, vol. 2: Testing Some Balance-of-Power Models. West Drayton, Middlesex: Collier Macmillan.
30.
Small, Melvin and Singer, J. David , 1979: Conflict in the International System, 1816-1977: Historical Trends and Policy Futures. In: Challenges to America: US Foreign Policy in the 1980's, eds. Charles W. Kegley jr. and Patrick J. McGowan. Beverly Hills - London: SAGE Publ., 89-115.
31.
Sorokin, Pitirim A., 1937. Social and Culturcal Dynamics, vol. 3: Fluctuation of Social Relationships, War, and Revolution. New York : American Book.
32.
Sorokin, Pitrim A., 1938. A Neglected Factor of War. In: American Sociological Review, vol. 3/4, 475-486.
33.
Speier, Hans, 1939. Class Structure and Total War. In: Social Order and the Risks of War, ed. Hans Speier. New York: Stewart Publ., 1952, 253-262 (reprinted from the Am.Soc.Rev., June 1939).
34.
Sullivan, Michael P. and Siverson, Randolph , 1980. Theories of War: Problems and Prospects. Paper delivered at the Annual Meeting of the International Studies Association, March 1980, Los Angeles, Cal.
35.
Vagts, Alfred, 1959. A History of Militarism — Civilian and Military. Revised edition. New York: Free Press.
36.
Vasquez, John A., 1976. Statistical Findings in International Politics: A Data-based Assessment. In: International Studies Quarterly , vol. 20, no. 2, 171-218.
37.
Wallensteen, Peter, 1973. Structure and War. On International Relations, 1920-1968 . Stockholm: Rabén & Sjögren.
38.
Wallensteen, Peter, 1980. Structure, Policy and War: Interstate Relations 1816-1976. Paper submitted to the 1st World Peace Science Congress, Harvard University, June 1980 (cf. also this issue of JPR).
39.
Waltz, Kenneth N., 1959. Man, the State, and War. A Theoretical Analysis . New York - London: Columbia University Press.
40.
Weede, Erich, 1975. Methoden und Probleme empirischer Kriegsursachenforschung. Überarbeitete Fassung eines Vortrags beim gemeinsamen Symposion der Universitäten Sarajevo und Mannheim im Oktober 1975 über Probleme des Friedens im 20. Jahrhundert.
41.
Wette, Wolfram, 1971. Kriegstheorien deutscher Sozialisten . Stuttgart: Kohlhammer.
42.
Wright, Quincy, 1965. A Study of War. 2nd enlarged edition. Chicago - London: University of Chicago Press.
43.
Zinnes, Dina A., 1975. Research Frontiers in the Study of International Politics . In: Handbook of Political Science , vol. 8, eds. F. J. Greenstein/ N. W. Polsby. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley.
