Getting to War

Predicting International Conflict with Mass Media Indicators

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, International, International Relations
Cover of the book Getting to War by W. Ben Hunt, University of Michigan Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: W. Ben Hunt ISBN: 9780472026487
Publisher: University of Michigan Press Publication: May 18, 2010
Imprint: University of Michigan Press Language: English
Author: W. Ben Hunt
ISBN: 9780472026487
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Publication: May 18, 2010
Imprint: University of Michigan Press
Language: English

This book shows how to predict wars. More specifically, it tells us how to anticipate in a timely fashion the scope and extent of interstate conflict. By focusing on how all governments--democratic or not--seek to secure public support before undertaking risky moves such as starting a war, Getting to War provides a methodology for identifying a regime's intention to launch a conflict well in advance of the actual initiation.

The goal here is the identification of leading indicators of war. Getting to War develops such a leading political indicator by a systematic examination of the ways in which governments influence domestic and international information flows. Regardless of the relative openness of the media system in question, we can accurately gauge the underlying intentions of those governments by a systematic analysis of opinion-leading articles in the mass media. This analysis allows us to predict both the likelihood of conflict and what form of conflict--military or diplomatic/economic--will occur.

Theoretically, this book builds on a forty-year-old insight by Karl Deutsch--that all governments seek to mobilize public opinion through mass media and that careful analysis of such domestic media activity could provide an "early warning network" of international conflict. By showing how to tap the link between conflict initiation and public support, this book provides both a useful tool for understanding crisis behavior as well as new theoretical insights on how domestic politics help drive foreign policy.

Getting to War will be of interest to political scientists who study international disputes and national security as well as social scientists interested in media studies and political communication. General readers with an interest in military or diplomatic history--particularly U.S. history--will find that Getting to War provides an entirely new perspective on how to understand wars and international crises.

W. Ben Hunt is Assistant Professor of Politics, New York University

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This book shows how to predict wars. More specifically, it tells us how to anticipate in a timely fashion the scope and extent of interstate conflict. By focusing on how all governments--democratic or not--seek to secure public support before undertaking risky moves such as starting a war, Getting to War provides a methodology for identifying a regime's intention to launch a conflict well in advance of the actual initiation.

The goal here is the identification of leading indicators of war. Getting to War develops such a leading political indicator by a systematic examination of the ways in which governments influence domestic and international information flows. Regardless of the relative openness of the media system in question, we can accurately gauge the underlying intentions of those governments by a systematic analysis of opinion-leading articles in the mass media. This analysis allows us to predict both the likelihood of conflict and what form of conflict--military or diplomatic/economic--will occur.

Theoretically, this book builds on a forty-year-old insight by Karl Deutsch--that all governments seek to mobilize public opinion through mass media and that careful analysis of such domestic media activity could provide an "early warning network" of international conflict. By showing how to tap the link between conflict initiation and public support, this book provides both a useful tool for understanding crisis behavior as well as new theoretical insights on how domestic politics help drive foreign policy.

Getting to War will be of interest to political scientists who study international disputes and national security as well as social scientists interested in media studies and political communication. General readers with an interest in military or diplomatic history--particularly U.S. history--will find that Getting to War provides an entirely new perspective on how to understand wars and international crises.

W. Ben Hunt is Assistant Professor of Politics, New York University

More books from University of Michigan Press

Cover of the book Object Lessons and the Formation of Knowledge by W. Ben Hunt
Cover of the book Strengthening International Courts by W. Ben Hunt
Cover of the book The Future of NATO by W. Ben Hunt
Cover of the book The Political Economy of Regional Peacemaking by W. Ben Hunt
Cover of the book On the Search for Well-Being by W. Ben Hunt
Cover of the book Microdramas by W. Ben Hunt
Cover of the book Spectacles of Reform by W. Ben Hunt
Cover of the book The Sea by W. Ben Hunt
Cover of the book Gender, Intersections, and Institutions by W. Ben Hunt
Cover of the book Neither German nor Pole by W. Ben Hunt
Cover of the book Legal Modernism by W. Ben Hunt
Cover of the book Manifesto for the Humanities by W. Ben Hunt
Cover of the book The Changing Face of Economics by W. Ben Hunt
Cover of the book Web Writing by W. Ben Hunt
Cover of the book Black America in the Shadow of the Sixties by W. Ben Hunt
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy