ABSTRACT
Researching the conditions under which competing political actors either cooperate with one another or engage in conflict has always been one of the core tasks of political science. In the area of security policy, research into the causes of war is one important strand of research that has become established at the crossover between the political science sub-disciplines of comparative politics and international relations. This body of research seeks to determine which factors play a role in triggering and intensifying wars and armed conflicts, making a distinction between conflicts within countries and societies (intrastate conflict) and conflicts between countries (inter state conflict). In the course of such research, large amounts of data have been collated with regard to which countries and societies are particularly prone to armed conflict. Scholars are now able to base their work on a range of basic assumptions that are backed up by empirical evidence.
