1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910822021603321

Autore

Walt Stephen M. <1955->

Titolo

Revolution and war / / Stephen M. Walt

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Ithaca, NY, : Cornell University Press, 1996

ISBN

0-8014-7000-5

0-8014-7001-3

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (381 p.)

Collana

Cornell studies in security affairs

Disciplina

303.6/4

Soggetti

World politics

Revolutions - History

War

Revolutions - Philosophy

Politics and war

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Front matter -- Contents -- Preface -- 1. Introduction -- 2. A Theory of Revolution and War -- 3. The French Revolution -- 4. The Russian Revolution -- 5. The Iranian Revolution -- 6. The American, Mexican, Turkish, and Chinese Revolutions -- 7. Conclusion -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

Revolution within a state almost invariably leads to intense security competition between states, and often to war. In Revolution and War, Stephen M. Walt explains why this is so, and suggests how the risk of conflicts brought on by domestic upheaval might be reduced in the future. In doing so, he explores one of the basic questions of international relations: What are the connections between domestic politics and foreign policy? Walt begins by exposing the flaws in existing theories about the relationship between revolution and war. Drawing on the theoretical literature about revolution and the realist perspective on international politics, he argues that revolutions cause wars by altering the balance of threats between a revolutionary state and its rivals. Each state sees the other as both a looming danger and a vulnerable adversary, making war seem both necessary and attractive. Walt traces the dynamics of this argument through detailed studies of the French, Russian, and Iranian revolutions, and through briefer



treatment of the American, Mexican, Turkish, and Chinese cases. He also considers the experience of the Soviet Union, whose revolutionary transformation led to conflict within the former Soviet empire but not with the outside world. An important refinement of realist approaches to international politics, this book unites the study of revolution with scholarship on the causes of war.