ABSTRACT
Wars are the outcome of a lack of stability and trust, real or perceived, in the conduct of relations between states. They have causes of a general kind which form the context in which decisions about a specific conflict are taken. These general causes are in this sense permissive factors, without which the conditions will not arise for a particular war. The cause of the Second World War was not just Hitler. The war was brought about by the interplay between specific factors, of which Hitler was one, and the more general causes making for instability in the international system.
