Why We Fight: The Roots of War and the Paths to Peace
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- Create Date：2022-05-07 20:21:37
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Christopher Blattman
- ISBN：1984881574
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Summary
The truth is， warfare shouldn't happen - and most of the time it doesn't。 Around the world there are millions of hostile rivalries at any given moment and yet only a tiny fraction erupt into prolonged fighting。 Most books on conflict forget this。 So in those rare instances of war， what broke down and kept the sides from compromise？ From unchecked interests and intangible incentives， through uncertainty commitment problems and misperceptions， this peerlessly authoritative and thought-provoking book shows that there are only so many logical possibilities for why we fight and how by knowing them we can act to prevent war altogether。
Drawing on the latest research in behavioural economics; gripping， counterintuitive examples from the long history of warfare around the world; and distinguished professor Christopher Blattman's own experience in warzones， we see， for example， how queens have waged war more than kings; that the homicide rate in the ganglands of Medellín， Columbia is lower than you think; and that even monkeys have an innate righteousness。 In an accessible， intuitive structure framed around causes and solutions， Why We Fight is a hopeful book， with answers to some of history's most important questions。 In an age of growing isolationism and the weakening of global institutions， this book couldn't be timelier。
Drawing on the latest research in behavioural economics; gripping， counterintuitive examples from the long history of warfare around the world; and distinguished professor Christopher Blattman's own experience in warzones， we see， for example， how queens have waged war more than kings; that the homicide rate in the ganglands of Medellín， Columbia is lower than you think; and that even monkeys have an innate righteousness。 In an accessible， intuitive structure framed around causes and solutions， Why We Fight is a hopeful book， with answers to some of history's most important questions。 In an age of growing isolationism and the weakening of global institutions， this book couldn't be timelier。
Reviews
Joni
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This would have made an interesting 15 page article。 The author's life story was unnecessary。 This would have made an interesting 15 page article。 The author's life story was unnecessary。 。。。more
Ankit Mittal
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I found the book to be very engaging and it is written in a way that is indeed very simple to understand。 I read it just after I had finished reading Narconomics and so I guess I could draw some parallels in the examples and it also enhanced the experience overall。I do not think it is biased as interpreted in one of the reviews here and it was from what I interpreted an extremely unbiased and apolitical commentary provided to support the concepts author has outlined and extrapolated on。
David Skarbek
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An engaging and careful analysis of the problem of violence。 Highly recommended！
Peter J。
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Tentative rating before starting to read。 High expectations。 It's that time of our epoch。 Ucraine。。。 Tentative rating before starting to read。 High expectations。 It's that time of our epoch。 Ucraine。。。 。。。more
Caroline
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I am new to public policy， geopolitical and war related affairs。 Since I have become very interested in such topics， I have stumbled across Professor Blattman's blog posts and enjoyed reading them。 I found his posts and views are easily to follow and understand。 So when I found out he is releasing a new book， I was very eager to read it。 I am half way through and found it very interesting and well-researched。 Totally impressed by the wealth and depth of the history and information that are packe I am new to public policy， geopolitical and war related affairs。 Since I have become very interested in such topics， I have stumbled across Professor Blattman's blog posts and enjoyed reading them。 I found his posts and views are easily to follow and understand。 So when I found out he is releasing a new book， I was very eager to read it。 I am half way through and found it very interesting and well-researched。 Totally impressed by the wealth and depth of the history and information that are packed in the book， while it doesn't overwhelm you even if you are new to this topic！ 。。。more
Ryan Boissonneault
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Preventing war and violence， if it’s not the top concern， has to rank among the most important problems facing humanity。 As those in the throes of war will tell you， there is no greater freedom than the freedom from violence。 Learning how to prevent it， then， or how to elect the leaders who can， should remain a top priority for everyone。 The stakes are high。 We can’t afford to get the causes of war wrong because， if we do， the proposed solutions won’t work。 And yet that is exactly what happens， Preventing war and violence， if it’s not the top concern， has to rank among the most important problems facing humanity。 As those in the throes of war will tell you， there is no greater freedom than the freedom from violence。 Learning how to prevent it， then， or how to elect the leaders who can， should remain a top priority for everyone。 The stakes are high。 We can’t afford to get the causes of war wrong because， if we do， the proposed solutions won’t work。 And yet that is exactly what happens， time and time again。 War， like any complex social phenomenon， resists a simple narrative， and yet if there is anything humans are consistently good at， it’s providing simple narratives。 We blame wars on villains， oversimplified scenarios， or just invented conspiracies。 But it’s never that simple。Chris Blattman—an economist and political scientist who studies global conflict， crime， and poverty—resists this tendency towards oversimplification at every turn。 Having studied prolonged violent conflicts between groups—whether it be gang violence， civil wars， or wars between nations—he knows how difficult war can be to explain， and to prevent。 Fortunately， for most people， most of the time， peace is the normal state of affairs。 As Blattman explains， the costs of violent conflict almost always compel groups to compromise。 Successful societies accomplish this all the time。 You probably live in one， and you probably don’t spend too much time worrying about war breaking out。 But when war does break out， it is rarely for any single reason—it’s usually the result of complex factors all interacting to collectively decrease the perceived costs of war and increase the incentives to fight。 In fact， Blattman identifies five such factors。 To the degree that the five factors or causes of war are present， the risk of war increases。 The flip side is that， to the degree we can manage the five causes of war， we can likewise mitigate the risks of conflict breaking out （this is obviously much easier said than done）。 Normally， war is too costly for either side to pursue， and the incentive is to compromise peacefully， with the weaker side willingly taking less （but achieving more than they would win by fighting）。 The calculus changes， however， in certain scenarios。According to Blattman， there are five reasons one side might initiate war， despite the costs: 1） unchecked leaders can benefit from war while being shielded from its costs， 2） ideologies can compel people to fight despite the costs （e。g。， religious conflict）， 3） uncertainty regarding the relative strength of an opponent can compel one side to test the waters or call a bluff， 4） commitment problems can compel an adversary to attack an enemy before the enemy grows stronger in the future， and 5） misperceptions can distort an adversary’s perceptions of the intentions of an enemy。 War results from a combination of these factors， and Blattman discusses several examples of how various conflicts throughout history can be explained in these terms。 The end result is that the reader will be equipped with a much more sophisticated toolkit when assessing the causes of conflict， past and present。 The final part of the book considers the paths to peace， which， unsurprisingly， work to mitigate the five causes of war。 Checks and balances on power， rules and enforcement， and democratic institutions and voting top the list， as these procedures collectively reduce the risk of a nation falling victim to an unchecked ruler。 As the philosopher Karl Popper said， democracy is the ideal system not because it necessarily selects the best， strongest leaders， but that it provides a mechanism for removing the worst leaders， leaders who would sacrifice the well-being of the population at large for their own personal gain。The other key to peace is interdependence。 Societies that are dependent on each other economically and socially rarely go to war， as the costs would be too high。 You don’t attack your enemy when your enemy provides economic benefits for you， just as you don’t demonize and attack the people you work or live with。 It’s true that pluralism can create conflict as the result of different worldviews placed in competition with one another， but this rarely turns into violent civil war in integrated democracies。 On a final note， since we want our politicians to create stability and peace， this book not only outlines the causes of war and peace， but also outlines the manner in which we should elect politicians。 Following the political philosophy of Karl Popper， Blattman recommends treating politics more like science by trying to improve society in incremental steps that can be tested， rather than by instituting grand sweeping plans that fulfill some utopian vision。 We should be wary of any politician that proclaims that they alone can fix complex social problems， and， frankly， if we vote for them anyway， we probably deserve them。 The bottom line: Buy this book to have a deeper understanding of the causes of war and the paths to peace and stability， and to develop a more sophisticated toolkit for the evaluation of political candidates and policy decisions。 。。。more
Christopher Kuonqui
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As a long time reader of Blattman’s blog， I expected a clever economics book on violence told well。 This is that and more。 It’s a near treatise on fighting equal to a political economy classic - founding new ways of thinking on and how to deeply reconsider group conflict。 A must-read remains an understatement。
Jim
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Insightful and compelling reading with a personal touch。 An easy and enjoyable read; not a textbook。
Davide Zufacchi
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30 years of economic/sociologic/criminology research summarized in a wonderful book written for everyone。
Kadambari Shah
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As a policy researcher， one of my favorite books has been Why We Fight。 Prof Blattman argues that fighting is actually harder than keeping peace。 He outlines five causes of war: unchecked interests， intangible incentives， uncertainty， commitment problems， and misperceptions。 He then presents paths to peace: interdependence， checks and balances， rules and enforcement， interventions， and wayward paths like new leadership and ending poverty。 He concludes with ten powerful 'peacemeal commandments' f As a policy researcher， one of my favorite books has been Why We Fight。 Prof Blattman argues that fighting is actually harder than keeping peace。 He outlines five causes of war: unchecked interests， intangible incentives， uncertainty， commitment problems， and misperceptions。 He then presents paths to peace: interdependence， checks and balances， rules and enforcement， interventions， and wayward paths like new leadership and ending poverty。 He concludes with ten powerful 'peacemeal commandments' for the way forward。 Combining economics， political science， sociology， and history， Prof Blattman thoughtfully gives us wide-ranging insights not only for conflict and compromise， but also for various aspects of growth， such as state capacity， socio-economic inclusion， and fragility。 The book is also a master-class in engaging writing， a page-turner - I couldn't put it down！ It is a must-read for anyone interested in international development。 。。。more
Cyrus Samii
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Blattman's aim is to provide a general framework for analyzing the problem of war （whether between countries， political factions within a country， or gangs） with the intention of informing the design of policies， institutions， or other interventions。 I think the primary audiences for the book are undergraduates or masters-level students， journalists， policymakers， practitioners， and general readers trying to inform themselves about why war happens and what we can do about it。 Blattman is quite s Blattman's aim is to provide a general framework for analyzing the problem of war （whether between countries， political factions within a country， or gangs） with the intention of informing the design of policies， institutions， or other interventions。 I think the primary audiences for the book are undergraduates or masters-level students， journalists， policymakers， practitioners， and general readers trying to inform themselves about why war happens and what we can do about it。 Blattman is quite successful in executing this task。 Graduate students and scholars would also benefit from the way that Blattman organizes a vast literature。 I would wholeheartedly recommend this as *the* book for those either starting war studies or working in relevant fields。 Blattman's analytical framework synthesizes insights from political science and economics on strategic dynamics through which rivals fail in negotiating compromise and find themselves caught in staggeringly costly violent conflict。 He organizes these insights into five themes: biases and misperceptions， uncertainty and incentives to misrepresent oneself， commitment problems， intangible incentives， and unchecked power。 The foundation here is game theoretic， and so these themes will be very familiar to those who have read the work of Jervis， Fearon， Powell， Morelli and Jackson， among others。 But Blattman also very skillfully integrates insights from psychology and sociology into this framework。 Where I personally thought the book really excelled was in the second half， where it uses the strategic-analytical framework from the first half to explain why facile approaches to conflict management （"let's just put women in charge，" "it's all about economic resources，" "this country just needs a TRC"，。。。） cannot possibly be sufficient to explain or mitigate the problem of war。 Blattman also makes an impassioned pitch for conflict management and violence reduction practitioners to embrace a culture of evidence and incremental experimentation。I am a scholar in this field， and I know Blattman to be one of the most well- and widely-read people in the field。 He was trained as an economist， spent a decade teaching in political science departments， has a life partner who is a developmental psychologist， and is now positioned at an interdisciplinary policy school。 The book reflects a deep engagement with what diverse fields have to offer。 The analysis is rooted in game theory from economics and political science， but what I found especially impressive was the book's ability to organize vast literatures from other disciplines and to also integrate insights from the direct fieldwork and policy experiences of the author himself as well as other researchers and practitioners。 I was already closely familiar with nearly all of the material that the book discussed， but I was nonetheless blown away with Blattman's ability to put it all together。 。。。more
TIAGO RIBEIRO DOS SANTOS
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Excellent and general explanation of the causes of prolonged and organized conflicts。 In plain language， relies on game theory， evidence and examples to make the case that conflicts are related to identifiable causes which are much more preventable than common sense， and much of the preceding literature， usually considers。
Daniel Frank
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I have a confession to make:I've been excited for Why We Fight to come out for years， and eagerly read it on the first day。。。because I thought it was the book version of Chris Blattman's famous university course Order and Violence （https://chrisblattman。com/blog/2017/0。。。）。Turns out， Why We Fight is a totally separate other book 😳Why We Fight is an interesting， important， well written， concise and rigorous book。 Blattman provides a multifaceted framework for understanding why conflict arises tha I have a confession to make:I've been excited for Why We Fight to come out for years， and eagerly read it on the first day。。。because I thought it was the book version of Chris Blattman's famous university course Order and Violence （https://chrisblattman。com/blog/2017/0。。。）。Turns out， Why We Fight is a totally separate other book 😳Why We Fight is an interesting， important， well written， concise and rigorous book。 Blattman provides a multifaceted framework for understanding why conflict arises that is grounded in reality and does not pretend to have all the answers。 The only downside to Why We Fight if you're a nerd who's already up to do date with the field， you won't learn very much new。 。。。more
Dylan Matthews
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A quick， thoughtful， epistemically humble guide to both game theory and the latest empirical social science on the roots of conflict。 Highly recommended。
Robert Wiblin
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The review by Andrew1982 is mistaken。Blattman does not 'defend' the War in Iraq， he tries to explain the motives of the various actors， with the same tone as for the other conflicts discussed in the book。He does note that the US supported Hussein in the 80s， on page 129。 It does not say that the invasion was primarily down to Hussein being a bad man， but rather a combination of bad intelligence （uncertainty）， biases and personal motives for war （intangible incentives）， underestimation of the dif The review by Andrew1982 is mistaken。Blattman does not 'defend' the War in Iraq， he tries to explain the motives of the various actors， with the same tone as for the other conflicts discussed in the book。He does note that the US supported Hussein in the 80s， on page 129。 It does not say that the invasion was primarily down to Hussein being a bad man， but rather a combination of bad intelligence （uncertainty）， biases and personal motives for war （intangible incentives）， underestimation of the difficulty （misperceptions）， as well as difficulty on the parts of both parties to credibly commit to any agreement they struck。 。。。more
Andrew1982
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