Giacomo Chiozza is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Vanderbilt University and is a student and scholar of international relations and international security. He is an expert on the study of attitudes towards US power and the study of political leaders in conflict processes. He is the author of Anti-Americanism and the American World Order (2009) and of several articles published in academic journals including the Journal of Conflict Resolution, the American Journal of Political Science and the European Journal of International Relations. In 2008–09 he served as a member of the American Political Science Association Presidential Task Force on US Standing in World Politics. Professor Chiozza holds a PhD from Duke University. H. E. Goemans is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Rochester and studies international relations with a focus on conflict. He is the author of War and Punishment: The Causes of War Termination and the First World War (2000) and has authored and co-authored articles in the American Political Science Review, the American Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Politics, International Organization, the Journal of Conflict Resolution and the Journal of Peace Research. Professor Goemans holds a PhD from the University of Chicago.

“Chiozza and Goemans make an important contribution to the literature on war and politics. The book’s great strength is its return to an analytic focus on the role of leaders and the incentives they face as individuals.” – Allan C. Stam, Professor of Political Science, University of Michigan

• 1. Introduction; 2. When do leaders fight?; 3. International conflict and the fate of leaders; 4. The fate of leaders and incentives to fight; 5. Case studies: fighting for survival; 6. Conclusions.