The Causes of Great-Power War

Join us for a discussion with Sebastian Rosato, Professor of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame.

What are the causes of great-power war? Great-power decisions for war are driven largely by balance-of-power considerations and prevailing military circumstances. Specifically, declining powers in dire military situations instigate “preventive” wars, and rising powers in excellent military situations instigate “productive” wars, against their peers. Similar calculations lead great powers to instigate wars against minor powers. The theory provides a compelling explanation of the origins of most great-power wars in the modern period, including the Franco-Prussian War (1870), the Spanish-American War (1898), World War I (1914), and the Soviet-Hungarian War (1956).