CHAPTER 2
International Relations
Theory of War
The question of what the reality in the world is and what the nature of
innovation in it has been engaging philosophers for thousands of years
and manifests in two opposing philosophical ideas. The Ecclesiastes
verses “What has been will be again ... there is nothing new under the
sun” express continuity.^1 On the other hand, “You cannot step twice into
the same river,” said Heraclitus, for in the interval between your first
and second steps, the river has changed and you have changed.^2 These
ideas express different principles of systemic theories. According to the
first argument, which expresses a deterministic view, changes are almost
impossible. The second argument corresponds with the view that the
complexity of the international system does not allow us to predict future
events.
The international relations theory of war presents a combined view that
the complexity of the international system and the close interrelations
occurring between the players acting in it led to any change made inside
it by one player or more influencing the other players acting in the sys-
tem. This close interdependence between the players stemming from the
system’s complexity leads international systems to resist change. Because
the players cannot control the character of the change that may diminish
their standing in the system, they have to act to preserve the existing state.
The fact that the system resists change does not mean that international
systems will prevent players constituting them from acting, but that inter-
national systems will resist their own changes. Therefore, international
systems will dictate the outcomes of the overall behavior of players and
not the behavior of individual players.
The current chapter discusses in depth the international relations theory
of war.^3 The first part deals with the theory and its basic assumptions. The