POL_S 103 Lecture 3: Poly Sci 103 Week 3
Document Summary
Standard polisci definition: sustained combat, organized armed forces, at least 1,000 battle-related deaths within a 12 month period, effective resistance on both sides. Conflicts that don"t meet the 1,000 fatality threshold known as. We can develop explanations for war: individual: psychological or genetic predispositions toward war, role of misperception, national: regime type, economics, nationalism, dyad: geography, economic relations, cultural affinity, system: polarity, international institutions. 78% of wars occur between states that share a border. 64% of major powers that share a border have had at least one war. Small disputes are much more likely to escalate to war if they involve a territorial dispute. Interaction argument: opportunity: nothing special about sharing a border, just creates, more interaction with neighbors so higher probability that there will be an interaction that leads to conflict, something about having a dispute over territory makes war.
