The Psychology of Modern Conflict Evolutionary Theory, Human Nature and a Liberal Approach to War

What does modern warfare have in common with our human evolution? In this study, Dr Kenneth Payne argues that there is an important relationship between the two – we have evolved to fight, and traditional hunter-gatherer societies were often violent places. But we also evolved to cooperate and to behave altruistically towards others. Both these evolutionary legacies can help explain how and why liberal societies fight. Payne considers the evidence for warfare in hunter gatherer communities, and explores how a process of 'domestication' some 10,000 years ago led to larger groups of more social and culturally sophisticated humans. He then considers how this über-sociability is manifest in liberal societies in the modern era, underpinning our sense of empathy and moral values.

Dr Kenneth Payne is a lecturer in the Defence Studies Department at King's College London and a research associate at the University of Oxford's Centre for International Studies. His research interests include International Relations Theory, with particular focus on Psychological and Constructivist theories of International Relations.

1.Introduction
Part I
2.Violence and Human Nature
3.Classical Realists on Honour
Part II
4.Reciprocal Altruism
5.Honour
Part III
6.Liberal Society and War
7.Liberal Warriors
8.Liberal War Stories
Conclusion: Heroic Warfare