John David Orme, Human Nature and the Causes of War, Basingstoke. Palgrave Macmillan 2018.

Rezensiert für den Arbeitskreis Historische Friedensforschung bei H-Soz-u-Kult von: David L. Jacobs, Universität zu Köln.

Wars have shaped mankind’s history since time immemorial. They shifted borders, caused great sorrow, have always existed and most likely always will. History’s most important thinkers assigned war crucial roles in their works. Finding explanations for why wars happen, one might argue, lies at the core of International Relations.

John David Orme’s ‘Human Nature and the Causes of War’ is in its essence a critique of the neo-realist explanation for war, which argues that the state of international anarchy causes world leaders to be anxious and fearful. This fear in turn can lead to war. Orme presents the shortcomings of Offensive and Defensive Realism, stating that both ideas fundamentally misunderstand mankind’s reaction to the perceived threat posed by anarchy. He does not dispute the existence of anarchy in the international system, however, by revisiting classical realist thought exemplified by citing numerous authors of political philosophy, he paints the picture of mankind seeking honour and glory. Offering an alternative explanation for war, by slightly modifying classical realism and incorporating psychology, sociology and characteristics of different regimes, Orme argues that human nature’s longing for prestige, glory and more specifically libido dominandi, the will to power, is in fact the main cause for war. Wars occur when revisionist leaders who are either encouraged or unrestrained by their regimes, try to gain territory or provoke other states to attack.

Relying nearly exclusively on interstate conflicts to test his explanation for war, Orme presents twenty-three case studies, focusing on six different types of regimes: Monarchy, Republic, and Sultanistic, Charismatic, Praetorian or Totalitarian Dictatorships. Different case studies, covering conflicts such as the wars of Louis XIV, Napoleon’s invasion of Russia, Hitler’s invasion of Soviet Russia and many more, take up the majority of the book and are analysed in detail by looking at a regime’s general characteristics, then more specifically the politics which lead to conflict or war and furthermore an in-depth description of the conflict’s main decision maker. Orme tries to find answers to the decision maker’s impetus to go to war and looks at whether or not the wars and conflicts he describes were advantageous. He concludes by presenting the findings which reiterate his initial statement, that wars happen because of human nature’s yearning for grandeur and admiration. Fifteen of the presented wars were fought over territorial concerns and three resulted from pre-emptive attacks, responding to a credible threat. Monarchies and especially dictatorships appear to be especially prone to war, as zealous leaders are less constrained by their regimes’ structures. Republics are more hesitant to go to war, but can nonetheless react vigorously against adversaries who dishonour them. weiterlesen