Most theories on the origins of war are based on the premise of a rational actor in pursuit of power or wealth. Lindemann (political science, Artois U., France) criticizes these theories because they neglect the non-rational motivations for war, such as the preservation of the positive self-image and the reputation of the country for both emotional and instrumental reasons, and the motivation to avoid shame. Using research from social and political philosophy, the author creates a theoretical framework for the study of social conflict in general, which takes into account these non-rational motivations for war. He shows how this framework can be used to analyze international relations, and presents some original hypotheses on the origins of inter-state war. These hypotheses are then used as a guide for an empirical study of four real-life international crises: the Israeli-Egyptian crisis of 1967, the US-Iraq crisis of 2001-2003, the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, and the US-Libya crisis from 1986-2004. Converted from 25 euros on 4/6/11. No US distributor. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
