We study countries choosing armament levels and then whether or not to go to war. We show that if the costs of war are … war is positive (but less than one) in any given period. Wars are between countries with differing armament levels and the … the probability of winning a war becomes more reactive to increased armament, the frequency of wars decreases. Finally, as …

behavioral foundations of weapons acquisitions to a general theory of arms races, with implications for the role of negotiations …, the balance of power, the timing of crises, and nuclear proliferation. Recent developments in economic theory are also … applied here to the problems of the arms race, nuclear proliferation, and the outbreak of war, yielding a deeper treatment of …