Review on Man, The State and War

8/12/2019 Review on Man, The State and War

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Man, the State and War

by Kenneth Waltz

Buga Irina Gabriela

International Affairs

and

European Studies

Second year

August 21st, 2013


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Table of contents

Man, the State and Warby Kenneth Waltz1

Introduction!!3

Chapter 1

"he first i#age of the causes of $ar!%

"he &irst I#age' I#plications!!!(

Chapter

"he second i#age of the causes of $ar!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

"he Second I#age' I#plications!!13

Chapter !

"he third i#age of the causes of $ar!!!1*

"he "hird I#age' I#plications!!!!!1(

Conclusions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1)

Bibliography!!!!!20

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Introduction

+istory boos are full of conflicts bet$een states#en, a#ong countries dissatisfied $ith their

status! "he #ain sub-ects that define the ti#eline of history learnt in schools are the conflicts,

na#ely, the #ost i#portant $ars and their conse.uences! "herefore, a /ery apposite .uestion

is that of $hy do these terrific eperiences occur fro# the beginning of history and they

continue to happen, despite the efforts of the international arena to a/oid the#!

"here are nu#erous organizations, treaties and institutions that are trying to fight $ars and

still, they are /ery #uch present in the li/es of #any nations! "hus, certain theories andreasons ha/e been put for$ard by scholars in the International elations "heories and not

only! Whether they focus on the #ore prag#atic factors that lead to conflict, such as

resources, territory, po$er, or the #ore abstract theories, such as the characteristics of the

hu#an beha/iour, these specialists try to offer general eplanations on the causes of $ar!

"he present $or ai#s at presenting so#e of the theories put for$ard by Kenneth Waltz 1in

his lecture, Man, the State and War: A Theoretical Analysis! "he ter# chosen by the author

to depict the presu#ed causes is i#ages! 4y doing so, he tried to a/oid any#isunderstandings that #ight ha/e occurred by using the ter# le/el 5 the i#pression that

only one of the causes is /alid6 and suggested that this ter# also refers to the fact that in order

to eplain the international outco#es, so#e ele#ents #ust be left aside in order to concentrate

on the core ones2!

"he three imagesanalyzed in this paper are the #an, na#ely the hu#an nature, the state6 the

internal structure, #ore precisely6 and the state syste# itself! Waltz co#pares his /ie$s $ith

so#e of the #ost i#portant thiners in politics and philosophy, such as +obbes3, Ada#

S#ith%, Spinoza* , 7ontes.uieu8and ousseau9! Although ha/ing presented a /ery strong

$or in the search for the #ain cause of $ar, Waltz ad#its that there is not one general cause

that could lead to such a conflict, but a co#bination of factors that $ill further be indicated in

the present thesis!

1-Kenneth N. Waltz (1924 - 2013)- Senior Research Scholar at the Arnold A. Saltzman nstit!te o" War and #eace St!dies. $is research

in%ol%ed re"lections on the international relations theor& and the role o" n!clear 'eaons in the relations o" states.

2-Waltz Kenneth (2001)Man, the State and War: A Theoretical Analysis #re"ace to the 2001 edition . *

3-+homas $o,,es o" almes,!r& (1// 19)- nlish hilosoher ,est 5no'n "or his 'or5 on olitical hilosoh&

4- Adam Smith (123-190)- Scottish moral hilosoher and a ioneer o" olitical econom&

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- 6ar!ch Sinoza (132 1)- 7!tch hilosoher considered one o" the reat rationalists

- 8harles-o!is de Secondat 6aron de a 6r:de et de ontes;!ie! (1/9- 1) -


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/-$irst +he ?!a5ers in #eace and War . 21-2

9-=ames @+he oral ;!i%alent o" War@ in emories and St!dies . 22-22 290

10- timists- the scholars that consider di""ic!lties to ,e s!er"icial and momentar& . War can ,e easil& s!ressed as these con"licts assthe& are "inite.

11- #essimists- the scholars 'ho s!ose that realit& is "la'ed. Altho!h 'ar miht ,e ostoned ,& !sin certain methods on the lon term it

cannot ,e a,olished d!e to the de"ecti%e nat!re o" realit&. ( orentha! @#olitics amon nations@ .-/)

=ne of the critics to opti#is# is einhold >iebuhr12, a theologian $ho argued that political

realis# is only possible by considering both the .ualities and the $eanesses of the hu#an

beha/iour! +e considered that opti#ists ha/e not taen into account the e/il in #en, the fact

that de/elop#ent cannot be /oid of proble#s and e/ery inno/ation can be used both for good

and e/il purposes!

As the author highlights in his co##ents, 7an is a finite being $ith infinite aspirations, a

pig#y $ho thins hi#self a giant ?K! Waltz, p! 21@! +e is able to change technology

according to his o$n interest, his #ind can create theories and assu#ptions through $hich he

epects to change the $orld! "his is $hy the e/il is in his essence, the #oti/ation that dri/es

#aniebuhr, Waltz considers that there are other three $riters $orth taen into

consideration, scholars $ho share the belief on a certain nature of #an! "hese are St!

Augustine13, 4aruch Spinoza and +ans 7orgenthau1%! St! Augustine obser/ed the inherent

nature of self6preser/ation of #en! Spinoza, ho$e/er, continued the theory that people try to

preser/e $hat they lo/e and destroy $hat they hate1*! If they $ould stri/e to preser/e

the#sel/es according to their reason, it $ould lead to an ideal $orld, in $hich people unite

and li/e in har#ony! 4ut reality is far fro# ideal, and #en are not guided by reason at #ost

ti#es, but by passions and pride! In this $ay they are dra$n into conflict and see to be the

first a#ong the others! Still, Spinoza


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beco#e at any ti#e conflictual and proble#atic, $hile >iebuhr considers that $ar has its

origin in the hu#an psyche 18!

126 einhold >iebuhr?1()261)91@6 A#erican theologian, concerned $ith ethics, politics and public affairs, professor at nion

"heological Se#inary136 St! Augustine ?3*%6 %30@ 6 Augustine of +ippo 6 Bhristian theologian $ho is considered /ery i#portant in the de/elop#ent of

the Western Bhristianity and Chilosophy!1%6 +ans ;oachi# 7orgenthau?1)0%61)(0@6 i#portant scholar in the study of international politics, especially in the

international relations theory, $riter of DColitics A#ong >ationsD ?1)%(@1*6 Spinoza, DEthicsD, Cart I:, prop! :II, note II186 >iebuhr, D4eyond tragedyD, p! 1*(

Cessi#ists agree $ith the opti#ists< /ie$ according to $hich $ar could be a/oided if only

#en could be changed! Still, they re-ect the possibility of e/er being able to achie/e this goal!

If #en $ould be co#pletely reasonable, they $ould al$ays find the best solution to e/eryproble#, by co##unicating and #aing co#pro#ises! =n the other hand, if they $ould be

fully lo/ing, they $ould al$ays be the first to gi/e up in a conflict, or e/en before it has

started! 4ut people are far fro# perfect, neither reasonable, nor caring, so conflicts $ill

al$ays occur!

+o$e/er, hu#an nature is #uch #ore co#ple than eplained abo/e! =f course, $e can

bla#e it for all the bad happenings in the $orld, such as cri#es, $ars, thefts, but there are a

series of actions that can also be attributed to the sa#e nature of #an6 charity, sacrifice and

help! "his #eans that the sa#e hu#an beings are capable of doing good, -ust as #uch as they

are to bla#e for the bad!

4ecause there is no agree#ent on $hether people are al$ays good or bad, it #eans that the

psychological factor is not enough to eplain all the actions in the $orld, lie Furhei#19

eplains! What is #ore, trying to assign the analysis of indi/idual beha/iour to group

pheno#ena is a$fully erroneous! Also, hu#an nature could not eplain by itself $hy $ars

occur, as there are periods of peace interspersed $ith others of conflict and $ar!

"aing into consideration another theory about hu#an nature6de/eloped by the first6i#age

pessi#ists6 according to $hich it is fied, and the fact that it could be the only cause of $ar,

then $e could ne/er ha/e peace! 4ut, if hu#an nature is only one of the causes of $ar, then

$e can try to $or $ith the other causes in order to achie/e peace! "his is $hy political

solutions are rele/ant and necessary 6 although being i#perfect, they can control anarchy and

#assi/e destruction, a thought epressed by the pessi#ists as $ell!

Furhei# contests this /ie$ in the sense that he disco/ered t$o tendencies displayed by the

pessi#ists6 to de/elop politics $ithout content and to introduce content in theories that go

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beyond psychology! In the first case, there are criti.ues against the fact that Augustinians,

though recognizing the need for institutions, fail to attribute specific tass and #erits,

foreseeing the dangers of anarchy, but o/erlooing the dangers of a tyrant ruler! In the second

case, the pessi#ists are too concerned $ith the pri#ary cause of conflict, $hich is hu#an

nature, not paying enough attention to the fact that this is the least #anipulable of all the

causes!

196 Fa/id G#ile Furhei#?1(*(61)19@6 &rench sociologist, the #ain founder of #odern social science and father of sociology

"he real solutions co#e only fro# the secondary causes! 7orgenthau suggests that conflict

deri/es fro# the co#petition o/er scarce resources, and not necessarily fro# the e/il that is

inherent in #an! "his theory indicates the battle for po$er as an instru#ent for co#peting

o/er goods, but there is also the possibility that po$er $ould be a cause for conflict $ithout

any reasonable eplanation, -ust because the stri/e for po$er is another inherent characteristic

of hu#an nature!1(

eaching a conclusion to this first i#age of the causes of $ar $ould #ean accepting the fact

that hu#an nature is co#ple enough to sustain any theory! We cannot find only good or only

bad traits in our beha/iour, as $ell as it is al#ost i#possible to dra$ a pattern of e/ilness orgoodness in people! We cannot construct a schedule of $hen people $ill beha/e badly or

other$ise! What is #ore, if changing our hu#an nature $ould sol/e the proble#, then $e

should find solutions in order to suppress #en


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1(6 7orgenthau, DScientific 7anD, pp! 1)2,1)8

The $irst I"age% I"plications

Fespite the fact that the first i#age has been long debated a#ong scientists, there is an

i#portant aspect of this cause that re#ained /ery little analyzed6 the psychological i#pact!

E/en though this field should ha/e a say in the .uestion of the causes of $ar, the #odern

beha/ioral scientists and psychologists treat it superficially and offer rather naH/e ans$ers!

=ne $ay to treat the proble# of $ar $ould be if science $ould cooperate $ith politics, and

the author offers t$o alternati/es for their $or6 either to change the indi/iduals that co#pose

our society, lie pre/iously #entioned, or to change society itself, by $oring $ith the

syste#! Still, psychologists ha/e proposed #ostly unrealistic $ays in tacling either of the

t$o solutions and they offered their ideas $ithout trying to understand deeper the proble#!

A#ong the theories put for$ard by the beha/ioral scientists $e can find four approaches that

supposedly $ould lead to peace! "hese are the fact that if there $as understanding a#ong the

countries, or if the social status of the citizens $ould be i#pro/ed and there $ere fe$er

econo#ic frustrations, there $ould be peace! In addition, if nations had better prepared rulers

or if the epectations of the people $ere changed, $ar $ould definitely be abolished!

>e/ertheless, each of these suppositions can be criticized, as there is no solid proof to indicate

that if nations $ould no$ their ene#ies better, they $ould stop fighting! In fact, it could be

true that because they do not no$ each other so $ell, they tend to a/oid fighting! In so#e

cases, being a$are of the di/ersity and cultural differences #ight be beneficial, but in others,

it could pro/oe #ore har# than good!

7oreo/er, taing the latter approach into consideration, there are t$o proble#s that can

interfere in the process of changing the $ay states operate! "he ti#e re.uired for the change

and the ti#ing of these changes #ust be taen into account! E/ery country has its o$n pace,

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its o$n culture and there could not be a synchronized change $orld$ide! In addition to this,

the .uestion of $ho $ill #ae the changes #ust rise 5 $hether the elites, the rulers are

#ore i#portant and the change should start fro# the#, or the #ass population is $hat brings

the best change, no$ing that they constitute the #a-ority!

&or all these issues, so#e scientists suggested the idea of a higher institution that should

control all the go/ern#ents around the $orld! >onetheless, this approach has no strong alibi

that it could $or and this pro/es that science still has #uch #ore research to do before

proposing a /iable solution to the proble# of $ar!

Chapter II

The second i"age of the causes of #ar

i/en the fact that the first i#age of the causes of $ar concentrated on the i#portance of the

hu#an nature in this #atter, the second i#age $ould #ostly rely on the influence that the

state could ha/e in this issue!

E/en though the first i#age does not focus on this second theory, one does not eclude the

other, but it certainly rans it second! Still, it is a general fact that hu#an beha/iour is to

bla#e for both good and bad actions, therefore $e #ust loo into further causes in order to

sol/e the issue of $ar, and this is $hy the state is gi/en priority in the follo$ing pages!

If the internal organization of the states is the proble#, $e should loo at ho$ this can

influence $ar! =ne reason for $hich states#en start $ars is suggested by ;ean 4odin 1)$ho

clai#ed that the best $ay of preser/ing a state, and guaranteeing it against sedition, rebellion

and ci/il $ar is to eep the sub-ects in a#ity one $ith another, and to this end, to find an

ene#y against $ho# they can #ae co##on cause20! "herefore, go/ernors #ight useeternal conflict as an ecuse to sol/e internal issues and bring the citizens together into

fighting an eternal threat, real or not!

"hese threats #ight tae /arious for#s, fro# econo#ic to e/en geographical ter#s! In the last

fe$ decades there $ere se/eral states $hich clai#ed their natural boundaries! "hey sought

to enlarge their territories to the cultural or de#ographic boundaries! "he theory $as

for#ulated by 4ertrand ussel21, $ho eplained that the reasons put for$ard in this situation

#ight see# -ustifiable for the states, as they $ould gain #ore security if they enlarge their

territories to the $anted boundaries!

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All the proposed theories ha/e one apparent solution in co##on6 in order to a/oid settling the

issues $ith eternal actions, they could concentrate the#sel/es by changing the internal

syste#s and thus, a/oiding $ar! =b/iously, if this approach is correct, the .uestion of $hat

should be changed appears and $hat ind of syste# #aes a state to be good!

1)6 ;ean 4odin ?1*3061*)8@6 &rench -urist , political philosopher, #e#ber in the Carle#ent of Caris and la$ professorJ hecreated a theory of so/ereignty !

206 4odin6 DSi 4oos of Bo##on$ealthD, tr! "ooley, p! 18( ?4oo :, chapter :@216 4ertrand Arthur Willia# ussel ?1(9261)90@6 4ritish logician, philosopher, historian, social critic, one of the founders of

analytic philosophy

Scientists proposed /arious definitions of $hat #aes a good state, theories /arying fro#

do#estic principles to political ones, but all agree that in order to preser/e peace, all states

#ust #ae those changes! Still, the author argues that #ost of these assu#ptions turn the

analysis of cause into solutions, rather than #aing a clear difference bet$een the t$o!

"herefore, he proposes an o/er/ie$ on the liberal political thought of the nineteenth century,

on their theory according to $hich internal actions #ight reflect the eternal ones as $ell!

"he starting point of the approach concentrates on the co#parison bet$een +obbes< theory of

the state, according to $hich it is co#posed of selfish citizens, focused only on preser/ing

their safety, e/en by har#ing others first, this being the reason $hy a go/ern#ent is

necessary6 so as to preser/e collecti/e peace6 $ith the theories of the other politicians that

supported eactly the opposite of +obbes< ideas!

"hey pro#oted the idea of good #en and a natural har#ony of the society! "$o of the #ost

influential ideas are those of Ada# S#ith and ;ere#y 4entha#22, $ho said that the #aret is

self6regulatory and that #en are perfectible! Along $ith the other liberals of that century, they

belie/ed that the go/ern#ent should ha/e #ini#u# influence on the econo#y, society andthe life of the citizens, because not only are indi/iduals the source of progress in society, but

they are the#sel/es constantly i#pro/ing23!

"he #ain idea supported by these thiners is the fact that #en are selfish and their greed

$ould push the# into $oring #ore in order to ha/e #ore fortune and in this $ay they help

the others as $ell! 4ut in this theory there is also the proble# of cheating in order to increase

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"he pre/ious theory only refers to the econo#ic branch of the state, pro#oting a laissez6

faire2%econo#y, $ith al#ost no go/ern#ental inter/ention6 only to protect the property and

-ustice6 but $ithout any pro/isions for une.ual co#petition, $hich could pose a serious threat

to this approach!

As far as the eternal policies are concerned, liberals adopted the sa#e position as in do#estic

affairs! If there is little need for the go/ern#ent inside the country, the absence of an

international authority should not be a proble# as $ell, thus co##itting a serious error, by

#ini#izing the i#portance of this issue and the possibility of $ar!

226 ;ere#y 4entha# ?19%(61(32@6 4ritish philosopher, -urist and social refor#er, no$n as the founder of #odern utilitarianis#!236 4entha#, DFeontologyD, ed! 4o$ring, I, 100612%6 aissez6 faire6 free #aret econo#y, $here the transactions bet$een pri/ate o$ners are free fro# any restrictions or tariffs,

the only regulations being for the protection of the property rights!iberals de#onstrated that peace is in the interest of e/eryone, not only because it brings

har#ony, but also because it is #ore econo#ically efficient! "hey thought that go/ern#ents

#ae $ars only to increase their control o/er the population and this is $hy de#ocracy is the

best solution for e/eryone6 the people should ha/e the po$er to decide!

E/en though their belief in the public opinion as being the ruler of the states is rather utopian,

these thiners reached another /alid conclusion6 that the states ha/e reached the point $here

they are capable of sol/ing their proble#s peacefully, $ithout turning to $ar!

In order to change the states, the liberals separated the#sel/es into t$o approaches6 the

noninter/entionists and the #essianic inter/entionists! "he first branch pro#oted e/olution

instead of re/olution, progress through education and they $ere against any inter/ention of

one state in the affairs of another! "hey also thought that free states lead to peace, but there

$as not created a #ethod through $hich all the states could be free and no agent that could

grant the freedo# for all states!

"he second category pro#otes the idea that states should interfere in the affairs of the others

in order to #ae the $hole $orld de#ocratic! "hey present $ar as a solution for peace, in

order to ha/e $orld$ide har#ony, so#e states should tae the place of agents and #ae $ar

in order to achie/e this goal!

"herefore, $hile the noninter/entionists base their theory on the natural course of history,

bearing in #ind that the po$er of #en is li#ited, the inter/entionists settle upon the idea that

certain states should tae action and beco#e the -udges of $hich are the good states and$hich are not! ie A!;!C! "aylor2* $rote, 4is#arc28fought Lnecessary< $ars and illed

thousandsJ the idealists of the t$entieth century fight L-ust< $ars and ill #illions!29

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oing bac to the proposal of creating a higher institution that should control the international

affairs, $e ha/e to tae into consideration the fact that the liberals #ade it in parallel $ith the

internal institutions! 4ecause they regarded it only as an agent of -ustice, $hich should settle

the conflicts, they ha/e not taen into account the fact that on internal basis there are also

institutions $hich #ae sure that the pro/isions are put in practice and such an international

institution $ould ha/e no po$er $ithout ha/ing so#ething to bac its decisions!

2*6 Alan ;ohn Cerci/ale "aylor?1)0861))0@6 4ritish historian, specialized in 1)th and 20th6 century European diplo#acy286 =tto /an 4is#arc ?1(1*61()(@6 er#an states#an $ho do#inated the European affairs in the 1)th century until his

dis#issal by the E#peror Wilhel# II296 A!;!C "aylor6 Du#ours of WarD

What is #ore, all the abo/e theories focus only on the actors 5 either #en or states6, but theypay little if no attention to the relations bet$een the#! "here is a high possibility that not only

the sub-ects should be changed, but also the $ay they relate to each other!

"herefore, the .uestion still re#ains $hich are the good states and, $hether if there $as an

agree#ent on the characteristics of such a state, should it also #ean that there $ould be no

$arsM If $e loo at the propositions #ade by liberals, the author suggests that $e should first

pay attention to $hat are states #ade of 5 societies6 and the fact that societies are #ade by

citizens and /ice /ersa, #en are also defined by the society they li/e in! oing further to

international relations, there should be an interest in the states, but also in their actions, the

ele#ents that #ae up the substance of international relations2(!

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2(6 Waltz, 7an, the State and War' A "heoretical Analysis, pp! 122

The Second I"age% I"plications

When trying to obser/e ho$ the second i#age beha/es in practice, the author #aes a

co#parison bet$een the socialist regi#es in Europe and the liberal thought pre/iously

described!

Still, no #atter $hat doctrine the rulers apply, the starting point of this chapter is an

obser/ation that helps us understand better ho$ the state syste#s $or! "he #ilitary

organization of the state is influenced not only by politics, but also by other etra6politicalfactors, such as geography, and in turn, influences the internal political structure! =n the other

hand, the internal political structure also influences the #ilitary organization of the state, so

the syste# is interdependent!

7o/ing on, the 7arist2)regi#e caught the attention of the author in order to eplain better

the second i#age, representing its fullest de/elop#ent30! According to this doctrine, the

capitalist regi#e creates t$o antagonist classes, the bourgeoisie and the proletarians, but only

the first one controls the go/ern#ent, thus creating a class struggle! War is only the eternal

pheno#ena of the internal class struggle $hich relates it to the capitalist states! 4y turning to

socialis#, the capitalist states $ould be abolished and therefore, $ar $ould no longer eist!

Socialis# eter#inates the idea of state and $ith no #ore countries to fight against each

other, there $ould be no $ar! "his theory supports the idea of a proletarian re/olution $hich

$ould lead to a united, nonpolitical, free association!

"hough in theory the ideas see#ed clear, once the &irst World War

31

occurred, the socialiststurned to their national interests and supported their countries rather than the international

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alliance that they pre/iously for#ed! &or fear of being defeated, all the socialists accepted the

$ar, thining that they held a defensi/e position!

In order for the socialist doctrine to further eist, read-ust#ent $as co#pulsory, and it ca#e

fro# t$o distinct directions! "he first one $as the solution of enin32, $ho transfor#ed theleadership that $as for#erly only for guidance, in a strong leadership that $ould e/en force

the #asses to$ards the supposed co##on interest!

2)6 Karl +einrich 7ar?1(1(61((3@6 er#an philosopher, econo#ist, historian and re/olutionary socialist!306 Waltz, 7an, the State and War' A "heoretical Analysis, pp! 12*316 "he &irst World War ?1)1%61)1(@ $as a global scale $ar centered in Europe, fought bet$een the Allies ?nited Kingdo#,

&rance and the ussian E#pire@ and the Bentral Co$ers ?er#any and Austria6+ungary@ and other countries that gradually-oined the t$o alliances!

326 :ladi#ir Ilyich enin ?1(9061)2%@ 6 ussian co##unist re/olutionary and politicianJ the leader of the ussian &ederationand then Cre#ier of the So/iet nion!

"he second proposal ca#e fro# the re/isionists< side! "hey transfor#ed the re/olutionary

ideas into e/olutionary ones, based on social and econo#ic i#pro/e#ent! "hey accepted the

state as for# of go/ern#ent and supported the idea of separate progress of each state!

"herefore, they put their faith into the nationality principle as being the basis of peace!

In conclusion, after the &irst World War, the re/isionists used the sa#e principle as the

nineteenth6century liberals6 that in order to ha/e peace, the internal syste# of the states #ust

change! "he difference bet$een the t$o ideals is the fact that the liberals $anted the state to

be changed according to liberal con/ictions, $hile the re/isionists pro#oted the socialist

ideas!

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Chapter III

The third i"age of the causes of #ar

If the first t$o i#ages reflected the hu#an nature and the state as possible causes of $ar, the

third i#age goes to the net le/el and introduces the international syste# as a possible cause!

"here are #any so/ereign states and no set of rules that all should follo$, nor an internationalagent to control their actions! "herefore, each country decides for itself ho$ to react to the

others and ho$ to beha/e in relation to the other states, #any ti#es, their attitude leading to

conflicts ,further sol/ed by the #eans of $ars!

If the status of the international en/iron#ent is anarchy, then e/ery state has the right to use

force $hen it considers necessary in order to achie/e its ob-ecti/es, or if it thins that the $ar

is #ore effecti/e than the tran.uility offered by peace! >e/ertheless, $e cannot spea of a

proper cause of $ar $ithout taing into consideration all the three i#ages, but if there is #ore

e#phasis on one of the ele#ents, the others #ight be distorted!

When referring to the first i#age, educating the people and the rulers of the state #ight pa/e

the $ay to a better situation! Bo#bining it $ith the second i#age, in $hich states $ould use

their #oney for less ar#a#ent and #ilitary e.uip#ent and in/est it in the $elfare of the

nation, it $ould lead to interdependence bet$een the#! =nce a state pro/ides #ore $eaponry

for itself, the others tend to do the sa#e for fear of being attaced, so, if the rule $ors theother $ay around, then $e reach the third i#age, $ith #ore peace and security for each

country because they depend on each other!

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In order to assess the international relations, the author appeals to the ideas of ;ean ;ac.ues

ousseau, co#paring the# to the first and the second i#age thiners, Spinoza and Kant 33!

Spinoza thought that the cause of conflict lies in the /icious nature of #en, as passion

displaces reason! 7o/ing these ideas to the le/el of states, they also act $ithout reason, only

dri/en by their passion, thus creating conflicts that are usually sol/ed in $ars!

Kant, on the other hand, offered a #ore co#ple eplanation! +e belie/ed that #en are dri/en

both by i#pulse and by reason, but the first one tends to o/erco#e the latter and this is $here

state appears, as a necessary constraint in order for the people to ha/e a chance to beha/e

#orally! Bo#paring #en $ith states, Kant thins that they are alie 5 #en in their state of

336 I##anuel Kant ?192%6 1(0%@6 er#an philosopher $hose $or included se/eral conditions through $hich $ars #ight end,including a $orld of republics and international organization!

nature are neither good, nor constrained by rules, and so are the countries as $ell! In order to

reduce the conflicts and the possibility of turning to $ar, he offers the solution of de/eloping

the states to the point $here they $ill /oluntarily obey the sa#e rules!

ast but not least, ousseau conde#ns both /isions in the sense that he considers the bad

nature of #en as a fiction constructed fro# i#agining that the /ices that they ac.uired in

society $ere gi/en by their nature! 4efore ha/ing to li/e in a society, people ne$ little about

ha/ing pride or en/y, as they $ould attac only in ti#es of hunger!

7ontes.uieu agrees $ith ousseau


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ousseau also describes states as being si#ilar to #en in their state of nature, but defines it as

the status in $hich they act $ithout ha/ing an upper authority to control the#! Still, there is a

big difference bet$een states and indi/iduals in that a country is a collecti/e unit of

indi/iduals! "herefore, in order for the state to be regarded as one single unit, there #ust be

unity a#ong its #e#bers, unity that pre/ails only $hen the rulers tae decisions according to

the general $ill of the nation!

3%6 7ontes.uieu, D"he spirit of the a$sD, tr! >ugent, 4oo I, Bhapter III

"his condition is #andatory and achie/ed through the #eans of patriotis# and nationalis#,

only $hen the citizens are loyal to their country! A good state can be recognized by its

decisions6 $hen the so/ereign taes a decision and the population agrees to be the best on the

long runJ but $hen the citizens are against that decision and they ha/e no po$er to change it,

it #eans that the state has a proble#!

"he $ill of one state #ay be according to the general desire of the population, but it #ight be

against the general interest of the other states! "his #eans, that although the general good is

achie/ed in ter#s of internal affairs, $hen the state relates to the international arena, its goals

#ight be against the others! E/en though a country #ight thin that its decisions ser/e the

interest of the other fello$ states, it is still its particular goals that are pursued, and $ithout an

upper authority, there is nothing to control it or the other nations fro# fighting against $hat

they dislie!

As a conclusion, ousseau suggests that the best solution $ould be a federal go/ern#ent that

should unite the states and #ae the# e.ual in a syste# held together by the rule of a$! "his#eans that there $ould be har#ony a#ong the participants, but there $ould also be certain

constraints that all the #e#bers $ould ha/e to face, a situation $hich is unliely all the

countries $ould appro/e!

17


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The Third I"age & I"plications

In order to understand better ho$ the international affairs ha/e an influence on the eistence

of $ars, the author tries to eplain ho$ states beha/e in the international arena! =nly because

they engage in $ars or not, that does not label the# as being good or e/il, neither does the

fact that they agree or disagree in certain #atters! Waltz turns to ousseau


19/21

>o$adays, another approach pre/ails, and that is Ceace re.uires anticipating $hat it is that

te#pts an aggressor and letting hi# no$ in ad/ance that, if he does not eercise self6control,

he #ay face a hard fight, perhaps a losing fight!3(

In conclusion, there is no guarantee that a state $ill be peaceful or belligerent at a certain#o#ent in ti#e, as its #ost i#portant goal #ay or not be to li/e in peace $ith its

neighbouring countries! In order to preser/e peace, a state #ay disar#, co#pro#ise or, on the

contrary, focus on its #ilitary po$er!

3*6 ;ohn 7cFonald ?1(1*61()1@6 "he first Cri#e 7inister of Banada386 7cFonald, DStrategy in Coer, 4usiness and WarD, p *2

396 4alance6of6po$er theory6 the idea that in ter#s of security, no state is strong enough to do#inate the others! =ther$ise, it#ight attac the $eaer states, i#pelling the# to #ae a defensi/e coalition!3(6 ;ohn &oster Fulles6 addressing the A#erican egion Bon/ention, St ouis

Conclusions

In the last chapter of his thesis, Waltz tries to correlate the three i#ages in a $ay in $hich

they could for# a syste# of causes or at least lead us to$ards a solution for $ars! Still, no

co##on ans$er could be found $hilst co#bining all the three i#ages pro/ed to be rather

difficult!

A first atte#pt to sol/e this issue is attributed to Woodro$ Wilson 3)$ho agreed that each

statestatus that there $ould be a constant peace! :arious liberals and re/isionists add that if there

$ere only social de#ocracies, the $orld $ould be a peaceful en/iron#ent! Still, this /ie$

needs further consideration, in the sense that if $e add the fact that the #ain interest of all

countries $ould be self6preser/ation, this approach $ould be true! >e/ertheless, this is rather

a utopian /ie$!

Another theory is based on ousseau


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Still, the author has a re#arable atte#pt in connecting his /ie$s to practical analysis and

chose three core factors of the causes of $ar! 4y centering his ideas on these i#ages, he not

only challenges his readers to study the# deeper, but he also lays the foundation to further

analysis! =n the other hand, by only taing the three i#ages into consideration, he fails to

refer to other causes that #ight be as /iable as these! So#e of the ea#ples #ight be the

transnational organizations, ethnicities or e/en religion!

"his thesis is definitely a precious read for anyone interested in $orld affairs, but also for

those een on a better understanding of the insights that the causes of $ar #ight hold!

3)6 "ho#as Woodro$ Wilson? 1(*86 1)2%@6 the 2(th Cresident of the nited States

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12! "aylor, A!;!C6 Du#ours of WarD, ondon' +a#ish +a#ilton, 1)*2

13! Waltz, Kenneth6 D7an, the State and War' A "heoretical AnalysisD, >e$ Oor' Bolu#biani/ersity Cress, 2001

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1%! DAddress to the A#erican egion Bon/ention, St! ouisD , found inThe New YorkTimes, Septe#ber 3, 1)*3, page % ?Speech offered by ;ohn &oster Fulles@

Websites%

1*! Acade#ia!edu 'http'RR$$$!acade#ia!eduR1%188*9RABriticis#ofWaltzs7antheStateandWar
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