Question

James Fearon identifies three “rationalist explanations for war.” List and explain all three of these. Which one is the most compelling explanation for war?

Sub: Political Science

Answer 1

According to Fearon, there are three primary explanations for the occurrence of war:

1. Bluffing: Leaders have a strong incentive to misrepresent information so as to obtain the best possible outcome. This is achieved by leaders exaggerating their resolve/capabilities and hiding their weakness.

2. Commitment Problems: Commitment problems are threefold. Firstly, the first-strike advantage increases the incentive to defect sooner. Secondly, a declining power has an incentive to wage pre-emptive war against a rising power. Finally, the zero-sum nature of resources lowers the probability of successfully bargaining over them.

3. Issue indivisibility: Many of the resources that leaders bargain/fight over are not tangible and easily divisible.