The Consequences of Defeat

The Quest for Status and Morale in the Aftermath of War

Bibliographic Data

ID6283350
AuthorsJoslyn N Barnhart (0000-0002-8661-6118, Wesleyan University, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume65
Issue1
Pages195-222
Publication date2021-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Conflict Resolution (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-0027 • E-ISSN: 1552-8766
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0022002720942585
OpenAlexW3046151849
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited57

Studies of the effect of past actions have focused on yielding without a fight. What happens, however, when states fight and lose? This article assesses the effect of defeat on a state’s behavior and finds that recently defeated states are more likely to initiate disputes than are undefeated or victorious states or states that fight to a draw. This aggression comes at the expense of states responsible for defeat and third-party states uninvolved in the original defeat. The analysis below examines the validity of five potential explanations for postdefeat aggression, including models rooted in failed political objectives, an emotional desire for revenge and reputation-building and finds evidence in support for the latter two. These existing mechanisms fail, however, to explain a key finding—the systematic targeting of weaker, third-party states—which, I argue, is best explained by a desire to bolster the state’s status and confidence in the aftermath of defeat

Aggression · Criminology · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Reputation · Sociology · State (computer science · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · International Relations and Foreign Policy · Law · Political Conflict and Governance · Psychology · Social Psychology

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