The causes of war as viewed by IR theories: on the road towards unity or divergence? Cover Image

Příčiny války optikou teorií MV: na cestě k jednotě či různosti?
The causes of war as viewed by IR theories: on the road towards unity or divergence?

Author(s): Pavel Pšeja, Zuzana Vránová
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences
Published by: Masarykova univerzita nakladatelství
Keywords: Keywords: war; conflict; causes of war; IR theories

Summary/Abstract: While the causes of war constitute one of the most often studied phenomena within the IR discipline, surprisingly little attention has so far been paid to their explanations through either traditional or modern IR theories. This article aims to contribute to our understanding of the causes of war by exploring the major IR theories and attempting to identify what causes of war they prevailingly identify. Primarily, we aspire to present a comprehensive framework for such an analysis, discussing various realist and liberalist approaches so as to follow with the elaboration of views represented by social constructivism and some critical theories. As it turns out, there are significant overlaps in the ways these theories treat the possible causes of wars and their aspects; consequently, we try to identify the possibilities of achieving a synthesis of various theories in terms of their understanding of the causes of war, while taking into account the most recent developments including evolutionary approaches and other influences coming from outside the IR field.

  • Issue Year: XIX/2012
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 67-85
  • Page Count: 19
  • Language: Czech