War and Peace - Cyclical Phenomena?

This paper demonstrates how the analysis can differ dramatically between two common modeling approaches to conflict. The first approach uses a one-period setup and associates positive investments in arms with conflict, see, for example, Skaperdas[1992]. The second approach has two periods, where arming decisions are taken in the first period, and the decision on wheter to go to war is taken separately in the second, see, for example, Brito and Intriligator [1985]. The second approach is then used to suggest a new possible explanation for the outbreak of war by showing how myopic players may end up in (Edgeworth) cycles of war and peace.