Structure - Agency and International Conflict: Capabilities, Identities, Risk, and Decision

Abstract

<p>This thesis suggests that the ongoing structure-agency debate in the international relations literature contains relevant insights that should be imported into the literature on international conflict, and, more concretely, that concerns with ideational structures should be incorporated into t he more materialist concerns of conflict theorists. The theoretical sections of the thesis suggest that it is possible to develop new approaches to thinking about conflict theory without making either agents or structures ontologically primitive. Using modified formulations of power cycle theory, identity theory, and prospect theory, a synthetic argument incorporating elements of each is developed within a framework of structure and agency. The final chapter of the thesis examines t he Falkland/Malvinas War and applies the theoretical argument to "test " the strengths and weaknesses of t he theory. The thesis concludes by pointing out some areas of difficulty and possible paths for further research.</p>