War and Systemic Capability Reconcentration

In: The journal of conflict resolution: journal of the Peace Science Society (International), Volume 32, Issue 2, p. 335-366

Abstract

Historical-structural analyses of world politics tend to emphasize the theoretical significance of a handful of wars that over the past several hundred years have demarcated important changes in systemic structure. However, analysts do not fully agree on which wars have constituted the benchmarks of structural change and transition. Nor do they agree completely on the definitional criteria to be employed in identifying such wars. In addressing these questions, we review and discuss the similarities and differences found in five definitions of systemic war. We also respond to a recent critique of the definitional practice of stressing war consequences. Moreover, an empirical validation of the long cycle of global leadership perspective's choice of global wars is undertaken by assessing the impact of a slate of candidate wars on nearly 500 years of fluctuations in systemic capability concentration.