Kenneth N. Waltz: Quotes about war

Kenneth N. Waltz was American political scientist and international relations theoretician. Explore interesting quotes on war.

Kenneth N. Waltz: 52 quotes3 likes

“Then what explains war among states? Rousseau's answer is really that war occurs because there is nothing to prevent it.”

Kenneth N. Waltz book Man, the State, and War

Source: Man, the State, and War (1959), Chapter VII, Some Implications Of The Third Image, p. 188

“War most often promotes the internal unity of each state involved. The state plagued by internal strife may then, instead of waiting for the accidental attack, seek the war that will bring internal peace.”

Kenneth N. Waltz book Man, the State, and War

Source: Man, the State, and War (1959), Chapter IV, The Second Image, p. 81

“War may achieve a redistribution of resources, but labor, not war, creates wealth.”

Kenneth N. Waltz book Man, the State, and War

Source: Man, the State, and War (1959), Chapter VIII, Conclusion, p. 224

“According to the first image of international relations, the locus of the important causes of war is found in the nature and behavior of man. Wars result from selfishness, from misdirected aggressive impulses, from stupidity.”

Kenneth N. Waltz book Man, the State, and War

Source: Man, the State, and War (1959), Chapter II, The First Image, p. 16

“With many sovereign states, with no system of law enforceable among them, with each state judging its grievances and ambitions according to the dictates of its own reason or desire - conflict, sometimes leading to war, is bound to occur.”

Kenneth N. Waltz book Man, the State, and War

Source: Man, the State, and War (1959), Chapter VI, The Third Image, p. 159

“The transitory interests of royal houses may be advanced in war; the real interests of all people are furthered by the peace.”

Kenneth N. Waltz book Man, the State, and War

Source: Man, the State, and War (1959), Chapter IV, The Second Image, p. 98

“Asking who won a given war, someone has said, is like asking who won the San Francisco earthquake. That in war there is no victory but only varying degrees of defeat is a proposition that has gained increasing acceptance in the twentieth century.”

Kenneth N. Waltz book Man, the State, and War

Source: Man, the State, and War (1959), Chapter I, Introduction, p. 1