Pols 261: Causes of WAR

Question 1

Realist Views on Causes of War

Answer 1

-Mearsheimer/Morgenthau/Waltz
-systemic condition such as the structure of the international system
-distribution/ redistribution of power among states
-absence of balance of power, thus disequilibrium in the international system
-instability of the structure and its units
-power asymmetries

Question 2

Liberal Views of causes of war

Answer 2

-War causes seen as aberrations
-Levels of arms expenditures
-miscommunication
-misperception
-closed treaties
-inherent weaknesses in humans
-flawed institutions
-flawed political systems

Question 3

The Great War

Answer 3

-15 million killed
-led to collapse of the the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires
-Colossal defeat of Germany
-domestic revolution in Russia

Question 4

World War 1 Causes

Answer 4

-Germany’s enhanced power position- created turbulence, disequilibrium
-Rigid alliances, absence of balance of power
-from multi-polarity to a two alliance bloc
-level and rate of arms expenditures
-excessive reliance on arnment -creating a security dilemma
-bureaucratic rigidity
-misperception and miscommunication among political leaders
-pressures generated from political and economic changes

Question 5

World War 1 Aftermath

Answer 5

Solutions:
-disarnament
-replace balance of power system with international laws and institutions
-conflict prevention and collective Security mechanisms
-establish the League of Nations
-deterrecne policies

Question 6

Inter War Period Failures

Answer 6

-Inability of the League of Nations to overcome the security dilemma
-outbreak of war in europe
-failure of collective security
-the greatest emerging power did not join the league
-disaffected powers left the league (Germany, Japan, and Russia)
-Great Britain and France were unwilling to bear the leadership responsibility
-Japan attacked Manchuria
-Italy annexed Abyssinia
-Germany Anschluss against Czechoslovakia
-The League of Nation stood by and did not intervene

Question 7

Failures Leading to World War 2

Answer 7

-WW1 had failed to resolve the pressing balance of power issues
-Germany and Italy had remained dissatisfied with their place in the European power structure
-Germany suffered the punitive measures imposed as part of the Treaty of Versailles at the end of the Great War
-Emergence of the fascist regimes in Germany, hitler, and Italy moussolinin
-Hitlers ambitious aggrandizement plans challenged Europe and international order
-deaths in WW2 exceeded 50 million