Gil Friedman
Semester Aleph
Political Science
Tel Aviv University
The Study of War
1. Wednesday, November 2 first meeting
a. Introduction to course
b. Introductory lecture
Wright, Quincy (1942). A Study of War. Second Edition, with a Commentary on War
since 1942. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Chapter X, Functions of Modern War, 249-257.
Chapter XI, Drives of Modern War, 273-290.
Chapter XXVI, The Family of Nations, 956-962.
2. November 9
War theories particular to great powers
Mearsheimer, John J. (2001). The Tragedy of Great Power Politics. New York: W. W.
Norton & Company.
Chapter Two, Anarchy and the Struggle for Power, 32-36, 39-42.
Chapter Five, Strategies for Survival, 138-159.
Organski, A. F. K. and Jacek Kugler (1980). The War Ledger. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press.
Chapter One, Causes, Beginnings, and Predictions: The Power Transition, 14-28.
Waltz, Kenneth N. (1979). Theory of International Politics. Reading, MA: Addison
Wesley.
Chapter 2, Reductionist Theories, 20-37.
3. November 16
Diplomacy of Violence
Aron, Raymond (1962). Peace and War: A Theory of International Relations. Translated by
Richard Howard and Annette Baker Fox. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
Chapter 1, “Strategy and Diplomacy, or On the Unity of Foreign Policy,” 21-36.
Schelling, Thomas C. (1966). Arms and Influence. New Haven and London: Yale
University Press
Chapter 1, “The Diplomacy of Violence,” 1-18.
Chapter 2, “The Art of Commitment,” 35-36, 43-50, 55-57.
Bueno de Mesquita, Bruce (1985). “The War Trap Revisited: A Revised Expected Utility
Model.” American Political Science Review 79(1):156-166.
4. November 23
Dilemmas of and limits on rational decision-making on war
Jervis, Robert (1976). Perception and Misperception in International Politics. Princeton:
Princeton University Press.
Chapter Three, Deterrence, the Spiral Model, and Intentions of the Adversary, 58113.
Gaddis, John Lewis (1982). “Implementing Flexible Response: Vietnams as a Test Case,”
262-294.
From Strategies of Containment: A Critical Appraisal of Postwar American
National Security Policy. Oxford University Press.
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In The Use of Force: Military Power and International Politics, Fourth Edition,
edited by Robert J. Art and Kenneth N. Waltz, Lanham: University Press of
America.
5. November 30
Dilemmas of and limits on rational decision-making on war
Blainey, Geoffrey (1973). The Causes of War. New York: The Free Press.
Chapter 8, The Abacus of Power, 122-124.
Chapter 9, War as an Accident, 134-145.
Fearon, James D. (1995). “Rationalist Explanations for War.” International Organization
49(3):379-409.
Posen, Barry R. (1984). The Sources of Military Doctrine: France, Britain, and Germany
between the World Wars. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Chapter 2, Explaining Military Doctrine, 41-59.
6. December 7
Nationalism, ethnicity, and war
Wright, Quincy (1942). A Study of War. Second Edition, with a Commentary on War
since 1942. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Chapter XXVII, Nationalism and War, 987-1012.
Van Evera, Stephen (1994). “Hypotheses on Nationalism and War,” International
Security 18(4):5-39.
7. December 14
Diversion and rallying
Levy, Jack S. (1989). “The Diversionary Theory of War: A Critique,” 259-285.
In Handbook of War Studies, edited by M. I. Midlarsky. Ann Arbor: University of
Michigan Press.
Russett, Bruce (1990). Controlling the Sword: The Democratic Governance of National
Security. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Chapter 2, Bashing the Foreigners, 20-51.
8. December 21
Psychology, ideology, and war
Freud, Sigmund. (1933 [1932]). Why War? 203-15.
In, The Standard Edition of The Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud.
Volume XXII. Translated from the German under the General Editorship of James
Strachey in collaboration with Anna Freud. London: The Hogarth Press.
Morgenthau, Hans J. (1969). A New Foreign Policy for the United States. New York:
Praeger.
Chapter 5, To Intervene or Not To Intervene, 111-156.
9. December 28
Winning and losing wars
Aron, Raymond (1962). Peace and War: A Theory of International Relations. Translated by
Richard Howard and Annette Baker Fox. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
Chapter II, Power and Force, or On the Means of Foreign Policy, 52-57, 62-69.
Organski, A. F. K. and Jacek Kugler (1980). The War Ledger. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press.
Chapter Two, Davis and Goliaths: Predicting the Outcomes of International
Wars, 66-74.
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Maoz, Zeev (1990). Paradoxes of War: On the Art of National Self-Entrapment. Boston:
Unwin Hyman.
Chapter 5, The Paradox of Attrition, 137-155.
Chapter 8, The Paradox of Power and War Outcomes, 219-239
Sunday, January 1, 2006—Hanukah holiday
10. January 4
Winning and losing wars
Mack, Andrew (1975). “Why Big Powers Lose Small Wars: The Politics of Asymmetric
Conflict.” World Politics 27(2):175-200.
Pape, Robert (1992). “Coercion and Military Strategy: Why Denial Works and
Punishment Doesn’t.” Journal of Strategic Studies 15(December): 423-455, 464-465.
11. January 11
Deescalation and war termination
Maoz, Zeev (1990). Paradoxes of War: On the Art of National Self-Entrapment. Boston:
Unwin Hyman.
Chapter 10, Loser’s Paradoxes: The View from the Pit, 276-83, 290-297.
Iklé, Fred C. (1971). Every War Must End. New York: Columbia University Press.
Chapter 5, The Struggle Within: Search for an Exit, 84-7, 95-8.
Kecskemeti, Paul (1964). Strategic Surrender: The Politics of Victory and Defeat. New
York: Atheneum
Chapter One, Surrender as a Strategic Concept, 8-12.
Chapter Two, Surrender as a Political Concept, 13-25.
Goemans, H. E. (2000). War and Punishment: The Causes of War Termination and the
First World War. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Chapter 2, A Theory of War Termination, 31-51.
12. January 18
Just and unjust war
Walzer, Michael (1977). Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument with Historical
Illustrations. New York: Basic Books.
Chapter 5, Anticipations, 76-85.
Chapter 6, Interventions, 86-108.
Chapter 8, War’s Means, and the Importance of Fighting Well, 127-133.
Chapter 9, Noncombatant Immunity and Military Necessity, 144-147, 151-159.
Chapter 11, Guerrilla War, 179-188.
13. January 25
Democratic Peace, interdependence, and the obsolescence of war
Doyle, Michael (1997). Ways of War and Peace: Realism, Liberalism, and Socialism. New
York: Norton.
Chapter 8, Internationalism: Kant, 259-265, 277-284.
Mansfield, Edward D. and Brian M. Pollins (2001). “The Study of Interdependence and
Conflict: Advances, Open Questions, and Directions for Future Research.” Journal of
Conflict Resolution. 45(6):834-847.
Kaysen, Carl (1990). “Is War Obsolete? A Review Essay.” International Security
14(4):42-64.
Wright, Quincy (1942). A Study of War. Second Edition, with a Commentary on War
since 1942. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
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Chapter XXVIII, Social Integration and War, 1038-1042.
Friday, February 3rd—last day of the semester
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