The Origins of War and Peace in the Human Species

Inbunden, Engelska, 2026

461 kr

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Beskrivning

When, why, and how did we, humans, develop our distinctive and paradoxical inclinations for both war and peace? This groundbreaking book investigates that central question by drawing on cutting-edge research and an unprecedented range of evidence from thirteen disciplines: biology, primatology, comparative ethology, behavioural ecology, anthropology, archaeology, criminology, social psychology, linguistics, demography, genetics, neuroscience, and climatology. The book shows how the capacities for both war and peace co-evolved gradually over millions of years through a mosaic-like pattern, with distinct but interacting components emerging at different moments and becoming integrated over evolutionary time. This deep-rooted trajectory has been shaped by feedback loops among biological, cultural, and environmental forces. With its expansive temporal horizon, cross-species comparisons, and empirical richness, this book offers a sweeping new account - and an indispensable resource - for anyone interested in the origins of the Janus-faced inclination for both war and peace in the human species.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2026-09-30
Format:Inbunden
Språk:Engelska
Antal sidor:766
Förlag:Cambridge University Press
ISBN:9781009714495

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Hugo Meijer is Research Fellow at the French National Research Centre (CNRS) and Deputy Director of the Centre for International Studies at Sciences Po, Paris. He is also the founding director of the European Initiative for Security Studies, the largest and most diverse network of security studies scholars in Europe, as well as a senior fellow at the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy, Brussels, and an honorary researcher at the Centre for War and Diplomacy, Lancaster University.

Innehållsförteckning

Acknowledgements; Introduction: the quest for the origins of war and peace; 1. Nature and nurture: how biology, culture and climate shape war and peace; 2. Across the animal kingdom: why and how to compare species; 3. Chimpanzees and bonobos: conflict and cooperation in the wild; 4. Nomads of war and peace I: the archaeology of hunter-gatherers; 5. Nomads of war and peace II: the ethnography of hunter-gatherers; 6. The last common ancestor and beyond: ancestral traits and hominin innovations; 7. Janus-faced: unravelling the co-evolution of war and peace; 8. Feedback loops: the effects of climate change and language evolution on war and peace; Conclusion: war and peace from the origins to civilisation; Appendix: intergroup lethal conflict and group hunting across species; Index.