The War of the Triple Alliance is regarded as the bloodiest war in the history of Latin America, taking place from 1864 to 1870. In a seemingly uneven match up, the country of Paraguay took on an alliance of three countries: Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina. Paraguay started this conflict under the rule of Francisco Solano López, the country’s dictator. What would make Fransisco Solano López, dictator of Paraguay, exponentially increase his military forces and attack an alliance of three countries, two of which are much larger than Paraguay? I will use operational code to study the dictator who started the war and examine reasons as to why he made such the rash and risky decision that he did. After examining Francisco Solano López’s operational code, I will delve into the topic of prospect theory to further evaluate the reasons for mobilizing a military and starting a war, and the risks involved with doing so. The topic of militarized interstate disputes, otherwise known as MIDs, will be the last subject I discuss in relation to the causes of the war, and I will explain his motives for the dispute as well as the motives of the opposition
Operational Code
When looking into the causes of a decision, it is important to take a look into the decision maker himself and see what his operational code was. In understanding López’s operational code, we are able to better see his organic roots and motivations in making the decision that he did. Operational code is an indication of how an individual will make a decision, based on his or her upbringing, his or her prior experiences, and his or her ideologies in general that would help in the making of a decision. In Levy and Thompson’s Causes of War , operational code is explained by sayi...
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...rancisco Solano López and the Ruination of Paraguay: Honor and Egocentrism. New York: Rowan and Littlefield, 2007. Print.
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Levy, Jack S., and William R. Thompson. Causes of War. Chichester, West Sussex, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010. Print.
The Paraguayan War: The Forgotten War. Dir. Denis Wright. Quilombo Films, 2009. DVD.
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Whigham, Thomas. The Paraguayan War. Lincoln, Neb.: University of Nebraska, 2002. Print.
Throughout the ages, there have been many dictators, all cruel and unforgiving, including Paraguay’s dictator, Jose Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia, who singlehandedly was able to isolate the country from the rest of the world. This all started with the ending of the Paraguay’s revolutionary war, where Dr. Francia manipulated the newly formed government behind the scenes. The question is, during his dictatorship, did he do more good than harm? Even if originally Dr. Francia had good intentions, did he ended up to becoming a dictator who isolated Paraguay from the rest of the world? This research paper, will explain both sides of the argument to create a strong case to prove. Dr. Francia negatively affected Paraguay and did he do more harm than
This book by Otis A. Singletary deals with different aspects of the Mexican war. It is a compelling description and concise history of the first successful offensive war in United States military history. The work examines two countries that were unprepared for war. The political intrigues and quarrels in appointing the military commanders, as well as the military operations of the war, are presented and analyzed in detail. The author also analyzes the role that the Mexican War played in bringing on the U.S. Civil War.
All throughout the 20th century we can observe the marked presence of totalitarian regimes and governments in Latin America. Countries like Cuba, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic all suffered under the merciless rule of dictators and military leaders. Yet the latter country, the Dominican Republic, experienced a unique variation of these popular dictatorships, one that in the eyes of the world of those times was great, but in the eyes of the Dominicans, was nothing short of deadly.
War is the means to many ends. The ends of ruthless dictators, of land disputes, and lives – each play its part in the reasoning for war. War is controllable. It can be avoided; however, once it begins, the bat...
Although many people assume the motivations for war are determined by a territorial protection, a number of scholars have added other motivations for understanding why war occurs, among these historians one is a conspicuous example his name is Howard Zinn. Zinn has exposed that many countries go to war in order to bring economic prosperity to their region this need for gain in turn causes many of the upper class of that...
The purpose of this essay is to inform on the similarities and differences between systemic and domestic causes of war. According to World Politics by Jeffry Frieden, David Lake, and Kenneth Schultz, systemic causes deal with states that are unitary actors and their interactions with one another. It can deal with a state’s position within international organizations and also their relationships with other states. In contract, domestic causes of war pertain specifically to what goes on internally and factors within a state that may lead to war. Wars that occur between two or more states due to systemic and domestic causes are referred to as interstate wars.
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The non-immediate causes of the war are a subject for debates, because the war is important in the history of latin america and because it is open for several interpretations. I will focus on three main paradigms of international politics: theory of realism, world society and dependency.
Olley, J. (01-Dec-2006). A Historical Analysis of the Spanish American War; 1898 - Associated Content. Retrieved July 20, 2008, from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/93329/a_historical_analysis_of_the_spanish.html
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...Scheina, Robert L. "Chapter 15 The Malvinas War, May-June 1982." Latin America: A Naval History 1810-1987. Naval Institute. 379-386. Print.