This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Faber, J. Articles by Siccama, J. G. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Diffusion of War: Some Theoreticai Considerations and Empirical Evidence

University of Amsterdam and Netherlands Institute of International Relations 'Clingendael', The Hague

Henk W. Houweling

University of Amsterdam and Netherlands Institute of International Relations 'Clingendael', The Hague

Jan G. Siccama

University of Amsterdam and Netherlands Institute of International Relations 'Clingendael', The Hague

In quantitative research into the causes of war there is a tradition in asking the question whether there is any systematic pattern in time. Do wars come in cycles? Is there an upward trend in the frequency of warfare or are wars disappearing gradually? In addition, some investigations have been made on the war-proneness of nations. Are some nations inclined to fight more than others? Or are chances that states resort to violence equal? Using the data collected in the Correlates of War (COW) Project, this study attempts to test the interactive effects of temporal and spatial aspects of warfare over the period 1816-1980. Results show that outbreaks of war within specific regions (Europe, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and Africa) are not related to outbreaks elsewhere in the international system. Furthermore, warfare in Europe has a distinct epidemiological character, while in other regions it has not.

Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 21, No. 3, 277-288 (1984)
DOI: 10.1177/002234338402100306


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. Petersen The World War Pattern: Outbreak of International Wars (1823-1989) as Stochastic Diffusion Processes Cooperation and Conflict, January 1, 1991; 26(1): 1 - 20. [Abstract] [PDF]