What can International Relations Theory learn from the origins of World War I?

TY - JOUR

T1 - What can International Relations Theory learn from the origins of World War I?

AU - Lebow, Richard Ned

PY - 2014/12/10

Y1 - 2014/12/10

N2 - World War I is a foundational or critical case for theories of international relations that address the causes of war. They include balance of power, deterrence, power transition theory, and rationalist models of decision making. Recent historical work on the underlying and immediate causes of World War I raises serious problems for all these approaches. Among other things, they highlight the importance of context, how it is understood by leaders, their motives and assumptions, and their tendency to exaggerate the constraints acting on them, the freedom of other actors, and their ability to predict events and control risks.

AB - World War I is a foundational or critical case for theories of international relations that address the causes of war. They include balance of power, deterrence, power transition theory, and rationalist models of decision making. Recent historical work on the underlying and immediate causes of World War I raises serious problems for all these approaches. Among other things, they highlight the importance of context, how it is understood by leaders, their motives and assumptions, and their tendency to exaggerate the constraints acting on them, the freedom of other actors, and their ability to predict events and control risks.

KW - international relations theory

KW - July crisis

KW - World War I

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/84916638990

U2 - 10.1177/0047117814556157

DO - 10.1177/0047117814556157

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:84916638990

SN - 0047-1178

VL - 28

SP - 387

EP - 410

JO - International Relations

JF - International Relations

IS - 4

ER -