What Sustains Wars: Will to Fight Versus Military Might
Scott Atran1,2,3
1Artis International and MAGI, Saint Michaels, Maryland, USA.
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
|November 2, 2025
Summary
Psychosocial factors, particularly the will to fight (WTF), are crucial in sustaining group conflicts. The Devoted Actor Framework explains this as a quest for ontological significance, deeply tied to group identity and sacred moral ideals.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Conflict Studies
- Political Science
Background:
- Wars and extreme group conflicts are sustained by complex psychosocial factors.
- The Devoted Actor Framework (DAF) offers a lens to understand the will to fight (WTF).
- Devoted actors are deeply connected to their group through sacred moral ideals, resisting compromise.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the role of psychosocial factors in sustaining wars and group conflicts.
- To analyze the will to fight (WTF) as a quest for ontological significance using the DAF.
- To assess the DAF's applicability to understanding and managing intractable conflicts.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of the Devoted Actor Framework (DAF).
- Examination of the will to fight (WTF) in various conflict stages and regions.
- Review of behavioral and brain studies related to psychosocial factors in conflict.
Main Results:
- Devoted actors' fusion with group identity and sacred ideals fuels WTF.
- WTF is crucial for understanding conflict dynamics but often neglected post-war.
- DAF provides explanatory power for intractable conflicts, including the Israel-Palestine case.
Conclusions:
- Psychosocial factors, especially devotion to group identity and ideals, are key drivers of sustained conflict.
- The DAF framework is valuable for understanding the psychological underpinnings of the will to fight.
- Understanding these factors is essential for managing and potentially resolving intractable group conflicts.
Keywords:
identity fusionintractable conflictsrealism versus moralismreligion and nationalismsacred valuesMore Related Videos
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