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The history of political events is made by people. From wars to elections to political protests, the choices we make, our actions, how we behave, dictate events. Not all individuals have the same impact on our world and our lives. Some peoples' choices alter the pathways that history takes. In particular, national chief executives play a large role in forging the destinies of the countries they lead. Why Leaders Fight is about those world leaders and how their beliefs, world views, and tolerance for risk and military conflict are shaped by their life experiences before they enter office - military, family, occupation, and more. Using in-depth research on important leaders and the largest set of data on leader backgrounds ever gathered, the authors of Why Leaders Fight show that - within the constraints of domestic political institutions and the international system - who ends up in office plays a critical role in determining when and why countries go to war.
The history of political events is made by people. From wars to elections to political protests, the choices we make, our actions, how we behave, dictate events. Not all individuals have the same impact on our world and our lives. Some peoples' choices alter the pathways that history takes. In particular, national chief executives play a large role in forging the destinies of the countries they lead. Why Leaders Fight is about those world leaders and how their beliefs, world views, and tolerance for risk and military conflict are shaped by their life experiences before they enter office - military, family, occupation, and more. Using in-depth research on important leaders and the largest set of data on leader backgrounds ever gathered, the authors of Why Leaders Fight show that - within the constraints of domestic political institutions and the international system - who ends up in office plays a critical role in determining when and why countries go to war.
1. How leaders matter; 2. Systematically evaluating leader risk; 3. Leader risk across geography and time; 4. The experiences that matter I: military, rebel, age, and education; 5. The experiences that matter II: childhood, family, and gender; 6. 'L'état c'est moi', … or is it?
Using in-depth research on famous leaders, this book explores how their life experiences fundamentally shape the reasons why nations go to war.
Michael C. Horowitz is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of the award-winning book, The Diffusion of Military Power. He has published widely in academic journals and mainstream media outlets on topics including the role of leaders in international politics, military innovation and the future of war, and forecasting. Professor Horowitz has worked at the Department of Defense, is a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and is a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies. He received a PhD in Government from Harvard University and a BA in Political Science from Emory University, Atlanta. Allan C. Stam is Dean of Leadership and Public Policy at the Frank Batten School at the University of Virginia. His work on war outcomes, durations, and mediation has appeared in numerous political science journals. Several grants have supported his work, including four from the National Science Foundation. His books include Win, Lose, or Draw (1996), Democracies at War (2002), and The Behavioral Origins of War (2004). He is the recipient of the 2004 Karl Deutsch award, given annually by the International Studies Association to the scholar under the age of forty who has made the greatest contribution to the study of international politics. Cali M. Ellis previously worked at the RAND Corporation, the Homeland Security Directorate of the Michigan National Guard, and the Michigan Governor's Office. She is a member of the Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society, and her awards include the National Science Foundation IDEAS-IGERT Graduate Fellowship, the APSA Janet Box-Steffensmeier Award, the ProQuest Dissertation Writing Award, and a Distinguished Service Medal from the Michigan National Guard. Ellis has a BA in economics from Bates College, Maine and an MPP from the University of Michigan Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, and has published in International Interactions (2015), the Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (2013), PS: Political Science and Politics (2012), and the Journal of Applied Security Research (2008).
'The authors deftly dissect a notoriously difficult problem at the
intersection of political science, history and psychology: when do
attributes of leaders shape decisions to use force? And they make a
compelling case that, naysayers notwithstanding, personality
matters.' Philip E. Tetlock, Annenberg University Professor,
University of Pennsylvania
'Why Leaders Fight restores the role of leaders to its rightful
place in explaining the factors lead to international conflict. By
integrating insights from history with the tools of modern social
science and international relations theory, the authors offer a
more comprehensive and nuanced framework for understanding what
causes nations to go to war - insights that will be valued by
policymakers and scholars alike.' James B. Steinberg, Dean, Maxwell
School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University and
former US Deputy Secretary of State
'Scholars have struggled to study systematically what policymakers
have long understood intuitively: that individuals matter in
foreign policy. This landmark study bridges that gap, arguing that
the life-experience leaders bring into office shape their behavior
in predictable ways. The debates this book will generate will
advance the field considerably and be fodder for conversations in
the seminar room and the corridors of power.' Peter Feaver, Duke
University, North Carolina
'With brand new data and innovative methods illuminated by
compelling narratives of leaders in action, Why Leaders Fight helps
transform the truism 'leadership matters' from slogan to science.
When all the external and internal pressures are reckoned, there is
still room for choice in the great matters of international
politics. Horowitz, Stam and Ellis show how the life experiences of
the individuals who make those choices appear to influence their
judgment in systematic and consequential ways. Future scholars may
well look back to this book as the beginning of the end of the idea
that a social science of international politics could safely set
aside the individual level of analysis.' William C. Wohlforth,
Daniel Webster Professor of Government, Dartmouth College
'[The authors'] theoretical and empirical contribution to the study
of leaders will be felt for years - and many more presidential
election cycles - to come.' Elizabeth Saunders, H-Diplo
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