Dylan Matthews interviews economist Chris Blattman (@cblatts) about his new book Why We Fight, which examines the root causes of war and what can be done to stop it. In a wide-ranging discussion that touches on conflict all over the world, Dylan and Chris discuss the role of the state, commonalities among historical conflicts, and the game theory of war.

References:

Chris Blattman’s book, Why We Fight
Chris’s research work
Research on how drug gangs govern in Colombia
How therapy can reduce conflict
Using summer vacations to study peace deal mediators
The influence of royal mounties in the 19th century may make Canadian hockey less violent now
Blattman on Ukraine before the war
Civil war predictions in the US

Hosts:
Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, Vox

Credits:
Sofi LaLonde, producer and engineer
Libby Nelson, editorial adviser
Amber Hall, deputy editorial director of talk podcasts

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