Also like Waltz, Mearsheimer argues that bipolarity (where two states have the majority of power and international influence) is more stable than multipolarity for three reasons: First, bipolarity provides fewer opportunities for war between the superpowers; second, there will tend to be smaller imbalances of power between the superpowers; and, third, there is less potential for great power miscalculation.29. Offensive realists can thus explain more than the behavior of states or great powers. The fact that these evolved behaviors are not always beneficial today does nothing to undermine their evolutionary logic or empirical presence. Note that we did not pick the traits of egoism, dominance, and ingroup/outgroup bias out of a hat. for this article. Gat, 2006, p. 427; see also Elizabeth Knowles, ed.. See, for example, the recent articles and responses here: Steven Pinker, The false allure of group selection. Individuals fight when benefits are expected to exceed costs (on average), and not otherwise. While this may be true in western, industrialized . As we have been at pains to explain, much of this variation stems from contextual differences (behavioral ecology)that is, a given individuals behavior can change across circumstances. Conventional offensive realism cannot explain such events well. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Second, the group might seek an alternative for the resource, perhaps through technological innovation or by substitution. Updates? Chagnon, Wrangham and Glowacki and others have also shown that individuals, as well as the group, may gain significant reputational and reproductive advantages of participation in warfare. The fact is that evolution explains and predicts both (under the relevant circumstances). Thus far, we have emphasized a state of anarchy in evolutionary history, in which there was no overarching power to provide protection from predators, rivals, or other threats. Nevertheless, in evolutionary biology, the attribution of traits to common ancestry (a species phylogenetic history) can be important too. We are positively biased toward our own groups and negatively biased toward other groups. Correspondence: Dominic D. P. Johnson, Alastair Buchan Professor ofInternational Relations, Department of Politics andInternational Relations, University of Oxford, St. Antonys College, 62 Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 6JF, United Kingdom.
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