Revolution and war

Bibliographic Data

ID20009870
AuthorsStephen M Walt (University of Chicago, corresponding author)
Year1992
Volume44
Issue3
Pages321-368
Publication date1992-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueWorld Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0043-8871 • E-ISSN: 1086-3338
PublisherProject MUSE (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2307/2010542
OpenAlexW4211174101
LanguageEN
Citations received45
References cited100

Revolutions are watershed events in international politics, yet the existing literature on revolutions focuses primarily on the causes of revolution or its effects on domestic politics. Revolutions are also a potent cause of instability and war, because they alter the “balance of threats” between the revolutionary state and the other members of the system. First, revolutions alter the balance of power and make it more difficult for states to measure it accurately. Second, they encourage states to exaggerate each other's hostility, further increasing perceptions of threat. Third, revolutions cause states to exaggerate both their own vulnerability and that of their opponents, thereby encouraging them to view the use of force as both necessary and feasible. This combination of insecurity and overconfidence is usually illusory, however. In fact, revolutions are usually harder either to export or to reverse than either side expects

Balance (ability · Computer security · Development economics · Economics · Overconfidence effect · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · State (computer science · Vulnerability (computing · International Relations and Foreign Policy · Law · Political Conflict and Governance · Psychology · Social Psychology · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub