The escalation of great power militarized disputes: testing rational deterrence theory and structural realism.

The concept of realism in the study of international conflict involves two theories, the deterrence theory and the structural realism theory, which were tested to explain the escalation in international conflict between 1816 to 1984. The rational deterrence theory provides a more conclusive evidence of great-power decisions to escalate militarized disputes, than the structural realism theory. Structural theories provide reasons for the initiation of great-power conflicts, but do not explain the reasons for the decisions by leaders to escalate such disputes into military conflicts.

Realism has ...

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