Journal article
Kantian fractionalization predicts the conflict propensity of the international system
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol.112(38), pp.11812-11816
09/22/2015
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1509423112
PMCID: PMC4586843
PMID: 26338977
Abstract
Many studies in international relations have investigated relationships between pairs of countries and the likelihood of conflict, yet none have connected the overall structure of the network of relationships between countries with the total level of international conflict. Here, we blaze a new path in the study of international conflict by introducing a measure of the overall fractionalization in the network of international relationships which we call Kantian fractionalization and demonstrating that this measure has been closely correlated with the number of new international conflicts in the following year. Moreover, we show that jointly democratic pairs of countries contribute negligibly to Kantian fractionalization, casting doubt on one of the most prominent concepts in international relations and policy prescriptions in Washington. Network science has spurred a reexamination of relational phenomena in political science, including the study of international conflict. We introduce a new direction to the study of conflict by showing that the multiplex fractionalization of the international system along three key dimensions is a powerful predictor of the propensity for violent interstate conflict. Even after controlling for well-established conflict indicators, our new measure contributes more to model fit for interstate conflict than all of the previously established measures combined. Moreover, joint democracy plays little, if any, role in predicting system stability, thus challenging perhaps the major empirical finding of the international relations literature. Lastly, the temporal variability of our measure with conflict is consistent with a causal relationship. Our results have real-world policy implications as changes in our fractionalization measure substantially aid the prediction of conflict up to 10 years into the future, allowing it to serve as an early warning sign of international instability.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Kantian fractionalization predicts the conflict propensity of the international system
- Creators
- Skyler J Cranmer - Alexander von Humboldt Fellow, Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, GermanyElizabeth J Menninga - 52242Peter J Mucha - 27599
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol.112(38), pp.11812-11816
- DOI
- 10.1073/pnas.1509423112
- PMID
- 26338977
- PMCID
- PMC4586843
- NLM abbreviation
- Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
- ISSN
- 0027-8424
- eISSN
- 1091-6490
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Grant note
- SES-1357622 / National Science Foundation (NSF) 220020315 / James S. McDonnell Foundation (JSMF) DMS-0645369 / National Science Foundation (NSF) SES-1461493 / National Science Foundation (NSF) Fellowship for advanced researchers / Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung (Humboldt Foundation) Seed grant / Howard W. Odum Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Alternative title
- International fractionalization predicts conflict
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 09/22/2015
- Academic Unit
- International Programs; Center for Social Science Innovation; Political Science
- Record Identifier
- 9983921855902771
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