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Why do human beings fight one another? In this exhilarating and bracing book, we learn the common logic driving vainglorious monarchs, dictators, mobs, pilots, football hooligans, ancient peoples and fanatics. Distilling decades of economics, political science, psychology and real-world interventions, and through his time studying Columbia, Chicago, Liberia and Northern Ireland, Christopher Blattman lifts the lid on the underlying forces governing war and peace. Why did Russia attack Ukraine? Will China invade Taiwan and launch WWIII? And what can any of us do about it? 'Captivating and intelligent' Tim Harford 'Wise, intriguing, imaginative' Rory Stewart 'Nothing could be more relevant today than war and peace . . . an outstanding and original book on this topic' Martin Wolf, Financial Times 'Important, readable, radical' David Miliband 'A great storyteller with important insights for us all' Richard Thaler, co-author of Nudge 'Essential for understanding the world we live in today' James A. Robinson, co-author of Why Nations Fail

What is the political legacy of violent conflict? I present evidence for a link from past violence to increased political engagement among excombatants. The evidence comes from northern Uganda, where rebel recruitment generated quasiexperimental variation in who was conscripted by abduction. Survey data suggest that abduction leads to substantial increases in voting and community leadership, largely due to elevated levels of violence witnessed. Meanwhile, abduction and violence do not appear to affect nonpolitical participation. These patterns are not easily explained by conventional theories of participation, including mobilization by elites, differential costs, and altruistic preferences. Qualitative interviews suggest that violence may lead to personal growth and political activation, a possibility supported by psychological research on the positive effects of traumatic events. Although the generalizability of these results requires more evidence to judge, the findings challenge our understanding of political behavior and point to important new avenues of research.

A review of three books on children in war: Forgetting Children Born of War: "Setting the Human Rights Agenda in Bosnia and Beyond," by R. Charli Carpenter, "They Fight Like Soldiers, They Die Like Children: The Global Quest to Eradicate the Use of Child Soldiers," by Romeo Dallaire, and "Child Soldiers in the Age of Fractured States," edited by Scott Gates and Simon Reich.

What is the political legacy of violent conflict? I present evidence for a link from past violence to increased political engagement among excombatants. The evidence comes from northern Uganda, where rebel recruitment generated quasiexperimental variation in who was conscripted by abduction. Survey data suggest that abduction leads to substantial increases in voting and community leadership, largely due to elevated levels of violence witnessed. Meanwhile, abduction and violence do not appear to affect nonpolitical participation. These patterns are not easily explained by conventional theories of participation, including mobilization by elites, differential costs, and altruistic preferences. Qualitative interviews suggest that violence may lead to personal growth and political activation, a possibility supported by psychological research on the positive effects of traumatic events. Although the generalizability of these results requires more evidence to judge, the findings challenge our understanding of political behavior and point to important new avenues of research.