A glance at the history of mankind, repeatedly ravaged by war and its consequences, might suggest conflict to be both ubiquitous and perpetual. The costs incurred, disruption caused and horrors endured have led man throughout time to theorise on the causes of war. What makes rational people or nations go to war with one another is, in each particular case, inevitably an amalgam of different reasons. However, many have argued over the centuries that underlying …showed first 75 words of 1997 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1997 total…maintain some credibility in the modern age. It is however, I believe, more convincing to argue, as the neorealists do, that war - both civil and international - is an outcome of the pressures of an anarchic system. The structure plays on human security concerns - more often than not, war being the inevitable outcome of military build up and misperception in times of crisis. <Tab/> <Tab/>