why nations go to war

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Why Nations go to War “Mortals made these decisions. They made them in fear and in trembling, but they made them nonetheless” (Stoessinger 4). This is something that Dr. John G. Stoessinger implies in his book Why Nations go to War. Stoessinger organized his book to look at the events that led to specific wars of the twentieth century. He discusses prime wars such as, World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam, and the wars in the Middle East. Stoessinger explains that some problems, such as political and economical issues, have hurt the outcome of each of these wars. Stoessinger mentions key leaders that had heavy impacts on each war. He points out people such as the German Kaiser Wilhelm, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, General MacArthur, Slobodan Milosevic, Saddam Hussein, and Osama bin Laden. Stoessinger also calls out five presidents that helped America be torn apart; Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon. Stoessinger’s book is set up in a close proximity to chronological order. Stoessinger also clearly defines his thesis and personal opinion about each war, then follows with prime sources about the events. In regards to World War I, Stoessinger clearly states he believes the German Kaiser Wilhelm was to blame on the large outbreak of war. Stoessinger states that humans make the choice to go to war based on fears. He admits that people were not, and are not, evil, but simply overwhelmed by destructive thoughts, and eventually become trapped in their own selfish delusions of how they personally wanted the world to be. To sum up Stoessinger’s basic theory, war is created and initiated, by fear. The start of World War I, in Stoessinger’s opinion, was when the German Kaiser wrote a blank check to Austria to help Austria attack Serbia. The reason Austria wanted to strike at Serbia is a result of Serbia assassinating Austrian crowned Prince Franz
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