One of the most important questions of human existence is what drives nations to war—especially massive, system-threatening war. Much military history focuses

This analysis of the origins of major wars, since the development of the modern state system in Europe centuries ago, also considers the problems involved in pr

The catastrophe of the First World War, and the destruction, revolution, and enduring hostilities it wrought, make the issue of its origins a perennial puzzle.

Now in a thoroughly revised and updated edition, this classic text presents a comprehensive survey of the many alternative theories that attempt to explain the

A brilliant and vitally important history of why states go to war, by the acclaimed, award-winning author of The Peloponnesian War. War has been a fact of life