It's Not Our Fault: Blame and the Politics of Military Cooperation

• In Event: Formal Models of Alliance and Rivalry in Conflict

Abstract

Assigning blame for the outbreak of war is central to the conflict process. Empirically, states invest considerable effort in shaping perceptions of blame and assigning fault both prior to and after the outbreak of conflict. In spite of this, considerations of blame are absent from canonical theories of conflict behavior. I study a model in which these perceptions matter. I focus on the case in which blame determines a third party's willingness to provide support for an ally involved in conflict. The analysis ties blame and attempts to manipulate to bargaining outcomes, war, and coalition building.

Author

• Bradley C Smith, Vanderbilt University