Advancing the scientific study of war

Although much research has been done, the scientific study of war has not progressed as rapidly as it could have due to a lack of integrative cumulation. To rectify this situation the war puzzle must be broken down into a series of interrelated research questions that fit within a process model of militarized interstate conflict. This will promote progress in explaining and predicting war, but the rarity of war, the role of chance in its genesis, and the possibility of multiple paths to war dictate that much patience, hard work, and imagination will be required to find the recipe(s) for war.