ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews and evaluates alternative explanations for the prominence of war, including those that find the roots of war in human nature, those that emphasize the structure of society, and those that locate the problem mainly in prevailing cultural norms. Much of the theoretical writing in political science that attempts to explain the prominence of war in various times and places gives primary weight to the pattern of power relationships among the relevant countries—in particular, the distribution of military and economic power. There is considerable disagreement among scholars over the weight to be accorded domestic factors in explaining patterns of war and peace. In Europe during the first fifteen centuries of the Christian Era, the Church developed a "just war" doctrine that was highly elastic in its criteria for when it was legitimate to enter into war. This chapter concludes by reiterating sad truth: War remains very much a part of the structure and culture of the world polity.
