Behavior, society, and broken promises

Behavior, Society, and International Conflict begins with a promise: that it will be able to deal appropriately with the vast area of its title, and that its content will match the impressive cast-list on its cover. In terms of subject area, this book is the third in a series that began as Behavior, Society and Nuclear That fact shows up in the choice of articles, which seems somewhat disjointed under the new title; we see articles ranging from ag- gression and war to models of strategic behavior and nuclear deterrence, most not really meant for the lay reader. The thread linking them is tenuous, and if the intent was really to look at behavior, society, and international conflict, a better mix could probably have been achieved. As to the contrib- utors and editors, certainly their pedigrees are impressive, including such names as Nye and Jervis; however, it is somewhat disappointing to find that the only contribution of the five editors is a 31.-page introduction. Their expertise could perhaps have been put to better use. The articles themselves offer a great deal, and the volume begins with Hinde's excellent contribution on Aggression and War. Hinde questions whether it is appropriate to use the same terminology of aggression when we speak of relationships between individuals and between states, and whether we can speak of similar processes at work in the two (and intervening) levels. Sensibly, Hinde argues that level of social complexity involves elements of lower levels and also additional properties arising only at that level, and each level both influences and is influenced by adjacent ones (p. 9). His point of view is also well-thought-out: that the arguments of both who claim that the causes of war can be traced to fundamental properties of human nature and of those who assume models of individual human nature to be irrelevant . . . seem in each case to be partial pictures (p

Aggression · Law and economics · Linguistics · Political science · Sociology · Terminology · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology · World Systems and Global Transformations