HomePersonalDemocratic PeaceDemocide20th C. DemocideMegamurderersLesser MurderersWhy DemocideDimensionsConflictMethodsTheoryPolicyLinks



Volume 4

Expanded Contents | Figures | Tables

Chapters

1. Perspective And Summary
2. International Relations
3. The International Actors
4. International Behavior Space-Time
5. International Expectations And Dispositions
6. International Actor And Situation
7. International Sociocultural Space-Time
8. Interests, Capabilities, And Wills
9. The Social Field Of International Relations
10. Latent International Conflict
11. International Conflict: Trigger, Will, And Preparations
12. The Balancing Of Power
13. Comparative Dynamics Of International Conflict
15. Empirical Dynamics Of International Conflict
16. Causes And Conditions Of International Conflict And War
17. Ending Conflict And War: The Balance Of Powers
18. The International Conflict Helix
19. Theoretical And Empirical Conclusions On Conflict And War 20. Principles Of Peace And Conflict

Appendices

15A. Phasing Propositions and Their Evidence on International Conflict
16A. On Causes of International Conflict
16B. Propositions and Their Evidence on the Causes and Conditions of International Conflict Behavior
16C. Evidence on the Causes and Conditions of International Conflict Behavior
17A. Propositions and Evidence on the Causes and Conditions of Ending International Conflict Behavior
18A. Descriptive Propositions on International Conflict
19B. Primary Propositions on Social Conflict
I. Unpublished Research and Results on International Relations
II. Event Data: Bases of Empirical Conflict Analysis
III. Characteristics of Published Quantitative International Relations Studies


Other Volumes

Vol. 1: The Dynamic Psychological Field
Vol. 2: The Conflict Helix
Vol. 3: Conflict In Perspective
Vol. 5: The Just Peace


Other Related Work

Conflict And Violence page

Democratic Peace page



UNDERSTANDING CONFLICT
AND WAR: VOL. 4:
WAR, POWER, PEACE

Appendix 19A

Overall Evidence
On 54 Social Field Propositions
On International Conflict*


By R.J. Rummel



In the appendices to Chapters 15-18 of this Vol. 4: War, Power, Peace, 54 propositions from the international social field theory were presented. These were divided into four types and evaluated with regard to 714 ratings based on the several hundred empirical studies listed in Appendix I and Appendix III.

Table 19A.1 summarizes the total ratings for the four types of propositions and provides a grand total. Several aspects of this summary are noteworthy.

Finally, Table 19A.2 summarizes the evaluations of each of the 54 propositions. As can be seen, no proposition is evaluated as ambiguous or unsupported by the evidence. That is, no proposition is rejected. On half the propositions I concluded that the evidence supported them; on an additional 19 (35%), I concluded that the evidence was strongly supportive.

In total, then, the propositions appear empirically and scientifically sound. Moreover, because they were either derived from the social field theory or developed within this field orientation toward international conflict, their support also gives credibility to the theory.

Of course, all this evidence on field theory is circumstantial. But

Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk.
---- Thoreau, Journal, November 11, 1854


NOTES

* Scanned from Appendix 19A in R.J. Rummel, War, Power, Peace, 1979. For full reference to the book and the list of its contents in hypertext, click book. Typographical errors have been corrected, clarifications added, and style updated.


For citations see the Vol. 4: War, Power, Peace REFERENCES




Go to top of document