Darwin and International Relations: On the Evolutionary Origins of War and Ethnic Conflict - Hardcover

"Outstanding! By ingeniously linking the social and biological sciences, Thayer makes a major contribution to our understanding of world politics, war, ethnic conflict, and international relations. This book will become a standard work in political science." Thayer's work is impressively well researched and represents an attempt to breach hardened disciplinary barriers. -- Jonathon Louth "In-Spire Journal of Law, Politics and Societies"

Using ethnological and statistical studies of warfare among tribal societies, Thayer argues that humans wage war for reasons predicted by evolutionary theory - to gain and protect vital resources but also for the physically and emotionally stimulating effects of combat.