Enduring Rivalries: Theoretical Constructs and Empirical Patterns

Abstract

Historians commonly criticize studies in a more behavioral mode as being “ahistorical”; that is, they lump together a disparate group of events without regard for their historical contexts. We propose to focus on what may be the most obvious and serious form of historical continuity: repeated conflict among the same set of states, or what we refer to (in accordance with the small but growing literature) as “enduring rivalries.” Specifically, we (1) explore the theoretical relevance of the concept of enduring rivalries, (2) define the concept of enduring rivalries, (3) evaluate current operational criteria for enduring rivalries, and (4) describe empirically the rivalries generated by those criteria.