What are the causes of war?
Saghaar Taghiyah Wright:
“The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to
ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.” (Tzu, 475:43). There can be
perhaps no greater goal of foreign policy, than to attempt an understanding at the causes of war; policy and
practice serve no practical, substantial purpose to the state if their contents, intentionally or not, lend to the
conditions that precipitate war. This essay will develop an argument for the causes of war based on the works of
Kenneth Waltz, a renowned American political scientist, who developed the levels of analysis approach for
international conflict in his book Man, the State, and War (1995). Ultimately, this essay’s argument is that the
causes of war exist in all three levels of this levels of analysis framework, the individual level, the state level,
and the system level. This essay aims to develop this argument, by offering a brief explanation of the level of
analysis framework, an analysis of the causation of war at all 3 levels, as well references to real life wars as
substantive evidence.
As mentioned above, to discuss the causes of war, is to discuss the theoretical framework with which these
international conflicts are dissected upon. The levels of analysis are an approach to international relations that
aims to categorize affects and causes of politics into three main levels, the individual level, the domestic/state
level and the systemic level (Muscato, 2018:1). The individual level deals with causes that may have originated
from singular persons, individual leaders or the circle of decision makers for a state. The state level locates
causes of war within the state, and its actions as a monolithic entity. These causes may arise either as a result of
the failure of the state and its functions, or as an explicit decision of the state. Finally, the system level seeks to
point out causes of conflict that originate from the environment within all states act in i.e., the international
political system. Critique of this framework does exist; for example, the presence of 3 levels inhbits critical and
detailed analysis, and conclusions will always be vague because they are spread out between the 3 (Muscato,
2018:3). However, it is in the opinion of this author that the levels of anlysis framework is useful for the
puposes of this essay, in that it allows for the pracitcal illustrations of not only the causes of war, but their
respective sources.
As is hinted at above, war is as a result of a combination of causes located within the tripartite framework of
levels of analysis. At an individual role, war can be said to be a creation of human nature. (Amonson, 2018:1)
While this does not mean to suggest that humanity is hardwired for war and destruction, war is a by design a
product of envy, selfishness, and self-preservation. As Kenneth Waltz expressed in his examination of the first
level, “All other causes are secondary” (Waltz, 1959:3). As the state exists as a large scale projection of human
nature, the second level is brought into play. On this second level, Waltz explains that “Men live in states, so
states exist in a world of states,” (Waltz, 1959:43). This means that states by design mimic human nature, and
Saghaar Taghiyah Wright:
“The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to
ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.” (Tzu, 475:43). There can be
perhaps no greater goal of foreign policy, than to attempt an understanding at the causes of war; policy and
practice serve no practical, substantial purpose to the state if their contents, intentionally or not, lend to the
conditions that precipitate war. This essay will develop an argument for the causes of war based on the works of
Kenneth Waltz, a renowned American political scientist, who developed the levels of analysis approach for
international conflict in his book Man, the State, and War (1995). Ultimately, this essay’s argument is that the
causes of war exist in all three levels of this levels of analysis framework, the individual level, the state level,
and the system level. This essay aims to develop this argument, by offering a brief explanation of the level of
analysis framework, an analysis of the causation of war at all 3 levels, as well references to real life wars as
substantive evidence.
As mentioned above, to discuss the causes of war, is to discuss the theoretical framework with which these
international conflicts are dissected upon. The levels of analysis are an approach to international relations that
aims to categorize affects and causes of politics into three main levels, the individual level, the domestic/state
level and the systemic level (Muscato, 2018:1). The individual level deals with causes that may have originated
from singular persons, individual leaders or the circle of decision makers for a state. The state level locates
causes of war within the state, and its actions as a monolithic entity. These causes may arise either as a result of
the failure of the state and its functions, or as an explicit decision of the state. Finally, the system level seeks to
point out causes of conflict that originate from the environment within all states act in i.e., the international
political system. Critique of this framework does exist; for example, the presence of 3 levels inhbits critical and
detailed analysis, and conclusions will always be vague because they are spread out between the 3 (Muscato,
2018:3). However, it is in the opinion of this author that the levels of anlysis framework is useful for the
puposes of this essay, in that it allows for the pracitcal illustrations of not only the causes of war, but their
respective sources.
As is hinted at above, war is as a result of a combination of causes located within the tripartite framework of
levels of analysis. At an individual role, war can be said to be a creation of human nature. (Amonson, 2018:1)
While this does not mean to suggest that humanity is hardwired for war and destruction, war is a by design a
product of envy, selfishness, and self-preservation. As Kenneth Waltz expressed in his examination of the first
level, “All other causes are secondary” (Waltz, 1959:3). As the state exists as a large scale projection of human
nature, the second level is brought into play. On this second level, Waltz explains that “Men live in states, so
states exist in a world of states,” (Waltz, 1959:43). This means that states by design mimic human nature, and
