Man the State and War: A Theoretical Analysis by Kenneth N. Waltz
1954/264pgs

Man the State and War is an analysis of three images and how they relate to warfare. First, man and conflict of human nature. Could we ever have peace in the world with our natural instinct to want what someone else has?

When looking at State, if one takes a state and use man in that model. Each State then is asked from a more Macro level, can the need of many or minority cause or prevent warfare. Finally, war and how it relates with politics. Marxism versus Capitalism. Finally concluding with the question, can warfare ever be eliminated?

Naturally, there is more in the book as this is the book that attempts to lay the foundation of International Relations with the “Three Images”. This is a required reading for my degree, although, I did find the book very interesting and like just and unjust wars, I couldn’t put it down. However, unless you are interested in the International Relations discipline, which means you have or will have to read this book, I don’t think is a reading for everyone.

Lopaka