Man, the State, and War: A Theoretical Analysis | Kenneth Waltz

Man, the State, and War is a 1959 book on international relations by realist academic Kenneth Waltz.

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An introductory work that compiles and categorizes explanations for why wars took place in human history. It was made into a book from a doctoral thesis written in 1959. However, it is still taught in the political science curricula of universities, as it talks about fundamental distinctions.

According to Waltz, explanations for the cause of the war can be grouped under three headings:

1. Explanations on human nature: Because humans are ambitious, liars, and unsatisfied creatures, there have always been wars.

2. State-oriented explanations: If unjust and selfish rulers are at the head of the states, they will not hesitate to lead the whole community to war for their own interests. If all states were democratic, there would be no wars.

3. Balance of power explanation: States form an international system. Therefore, a state, even if it is peaceful or democratic, may have to fight to survive when the balance of power changes.

Another interesting aspect of the book is that although it was written by an author who remembered the Soviet Union as the main enemy during the Cold War, it provides a good summary of the internal debates of the socialists during the First World War.

The book beautifully illustrates the evolution of the thinking of the ruling classes. In our age, the bourgeoisie has transformed the war from a political problem that cannot be solved to an enterprise that needs to be managed. The thinkers of the ruling class are not interested in removing the foundations of war through grand generalisations, and sweeping theories, as classical political philosophers do. "There will always be war," they say, "what needs to be done is to manage the war through negotiations, with demonstrations of strength, by establishing the right alliances, and get the maximum benefit from it for us."

Finally, he arrives at the conclusion that although the out of control of international relations and the inability to subject them to a unified law plays the most considerable role in the outbreak of wars, yet we cannot neglect the part of other patterns, such as the savagery inherent in human nature.

Waltz is basically a Neo-realist scholar, and realism is a theory that can explain everything from world wars, the cold war, the Korean war, the Invasion of Afghanistan, and the tussle for power between the US and the Soviet Union, to the present conflicts in the international milieu. As in my other book reviews on realism, like “The Tragedy of Great Power Politics,” I have already explained how realist scholars view this world and how they predicted the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2016. The basic argument remains the same, but apart from these superficial similarities between Waltz and Mearsheimer, a few differences must be considered. Although both are Realist scholars, Waltz favours defensive strategies, and Mearsheimer favours offensive state policies.