First Published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This is Volume I of seven in the Social Psychology series. First published in 1949, from a symposium entitled 'War and Democracy' this essay presents an introduction to the scientific study of the causes of fighting and war. It offers an attempt to describe and analyse the general psychological forces lying behind the timeless and ubiquitous urge to fight and kill.