CANCELED: “Why We Fight” Featuring Author Chris Blattman

Portrait of Chris Blattman
Humphrey School of Public Affairs
December 7, 2022 - 5:00 pm CST
- 6:00 pm
301 19th Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55455
Due to unforeseen circumstances, this event has been canceled. The Humphrey School welcomes author and economist Chris Blattman to discuss his recently released book, Why We Fight: The Roots of War and the Paths to Peace.

Blattman is the Ramalee E. Pearson Professor of Global Conflict Studies at The University of Chicago’s Pearson Institute and Harris School of Public Policy. His work focuses on violence, crime, and poverty.

 

Wednesday, December 7
5 – 6 p.m.
Humphrey School, Cowles Auditorium and online

Light refreshments will be served in the Humphrey Forum following the event.

 

Register to attend.

 

More About the Book
It’s easy to overlook the underlying strategic forces of war, to see it solely as a series of errors, accidents, and emotions gone awry. It’s also easy to forget that war shouldn’t happen—and most of the time it doesn’t. Around the world, there are millions of hostile rivalries, yet only a fraction erupt into violence, a fact too many accounts overlook.

With a counterintuitive approach, Christopher Blattman reminds us that most rivals loathe one another in peace. War is too costly to fight, so enemies almost always find it better to split the pie than spoil it for everyone or struggle over thin slices. In those rare instances when fighting ensues, we should ask: What kept rivals from compromise?

Why We Fight draws on decades of economics, political science, psychology, and real-world interventions to lay out the root causes and remedies for war, showing that violence is not the norm; that there are only five reasons why conflict wins over compromise; and how peacemakers turn the tides through tinkering, not transformation.

Contact Info
Please contact [email protected] with questions or accommodation requests.