{"product_id":"the-war-ledger","title":"The War Ledger","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe War Ledger provides fresh  sophisticated answers to fundamental questions about major modern wars: Why do major wars begin? What accounts for victory or defeat in war? How do victory and defeat influence the recovery of the combatants? Are the rules governing conflict behavior between nations the same since the advent of the nuclear era?  The authors find such well-known theories as the balance of power and collective security systems inadequate to explain how conflict erupts in the international system. Their rigorous empirical analysis proves that the power-transition theory  hinging on economic  social  and political growth  is more accurate; it is the differential rate of growth of the two most powerful nations in the systemthe dominant nation and the challengerthat destabilizes all members and precipitates world wars.  Predictions of who will win or lose a war  the authors find  depend not only on the power potential of a nation but on the capability of its political systems to mobilize its resourcesthe \"political capacity indicator.\" After examining the aftermath of major conflicts  the authors identify national growth as the determining factor in a nations recovery. With victory  national capabilities may increase or decrease; with defeat  losses can be enormous. Unexpectedly  however  in less than two decades  losers make up for their losses and all combatants find themselves where they would have been had no war occurred.  Finally  the authors address the question of nuclear arsenals. They find that these arsenals do not make the difference that is usually assumed. Nuclear weapons have not changed the structure of power on which international politics rests. Nor does the behavior of participants in nuclear confrontation meet the expectations set out in deterrence theory.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44966813827125,"sku":"ByrdShop_0226632806","price":27.91,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780226632803.jpg?v=1770581705","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-war-ledger","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}