EAN: 9781984881571

WHY WE FIGHT - CHRISTOPHER BLATTMAN GEBUNDEN

An acclaimed expert on violence and seasoned peacebuilder explains the five reasons why
conflict (rarely) blooms into war  and how to interrupt that deadly process. It's easy to
overlook the underlying strategic forces of war  to see it solely as a series of errors 
accidents  and emotions gone awry. It's also easy to forget that war shouldn't happen-and most
of the time it doesn't. Around the world there are millions of hostile rivalries  yet only a
tiny fraction erupt into violence. Too many accounts of conflict forget this. With a
counterintuitive approach  Blattman reminds us that most rivals loathe one another in peace.
That's because war is too costly to fight. Enemies almost always find it better to split the
pie than spoil it or struggle over thin slices. So  in those rare instances when fighting
ensues  we should ask: what kept rivals from compromise? Why We Fight draws on decades of
economics  political science  psychology  and real-world interventions to lay out the root
causes and remedies for war  showing that violence is not the norm  that there are only five
reasons why conflict wins over compromise  and how peacemakers turn the tides through tinkering
not transformation. From warring states to street gangs  ethnic groups and religious sects to
political factions  there are common dynamics to heed and lessons to learn. Along the way  we
meet vainglorious European monarchs  African dictators  Indian mobs  Nazi pilots  British
football hooligans  ancient Greeks  and fanatical Americans. What of remedies that shift
incentives away from violence and get parties back to deal-making? Societies are surprisingly
good at interrupting and ending violence when they want to-even the gangs of Medellin do it.
Realistic and optimistic  this is book that lends new meaning to the old adage  Give peace a
chance.

Aktuelle Preise zur EAN 9781984881571

Produktinformationen zur 9781984881571