The theory of perceptions greatly manifests itself in the second part of Stoessinger`s book. This emanates from the author`s belief that prior to the start of any war, a large number of political leaders appear to have misjudged the situation. He, therefore, utilizes four levels of analysis in order to offer an inkling on the situation. The first level is the false perception acquired by a person regarding their role in the world. This also determines how the individual will react in the event of conflict. Secondly, demonization of the opponents image, with the challenger understanding the inability of his opponent to deal with the situation. The third level pertains to misconceiving the intentions of the adversaries. This appears to be one of the main reasons why most people ended up being defenseless when war erupted. In addition to this, some of the wars that occurred might not have happened if it were not for the misapprehensions. Finally, the fourth level pertains to undermining the ability of the challenger. For instance, the Arabs planned on attacking the Jews having underestimated them, and also knowing that they had a greater army (Stoessinger, 2010). This turned out to be catastrophic for them.
It is also apparent that Stoessinger is consistent with his analysis in the first half. The events he described occur in the same chronological order in which they appear. He begins by demonstrating how World War I occurred. He then elaborates on the surprise attack launched by Hitler on Stalin. Stoessinger then talks of the Korean War which occurred later afterwards with Stalin seeking military conquest of the west. The reader`s attention is then diverted to the Vietnam War involving President Truman. Stoessinger then finalizes the last part of the first half by talking about the war at Kosovo, whereby he defines this period as one where wars erupted among the last dictators of Europe. Moreover, his arguments are clear and persuasive since they represent the true nature of the events that occurred.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Reference
Stoessinger, J. (2010). Why nations go to war . Nelson Education.
