Summary of Christopher Blattman's Why We Fight

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 I first learned about the Billiards War from an inmate in Bellavista prison. It was described to me by Carlos, a member of a neighborhood gang who had started selling drugs at the age of fourteen.

#2 In Medellín, Colombia, gangs control most of the neighborhoods, and the prisons are their Strongholds. The prison complex of Bellavista is at the center of this citywide contest, because that’s where most of the coordinadores live.

#3 The Billiards War never happened in Medellín. El Mesa grew in power, but they never fought the other gangs. They simply negotiated with them and took some of their territory. This has been the case in Medellín for decades, as most opponents have chosen not to fight.

#4 The calculus of compromise explains why most rivals avoid war. It is a simple strategic logic that explains why most sides prefer to find a peaceful split rather than going to war.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: May 9, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822509870

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Insights on Christopher Blattman's Why We Fight

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

I first learned about the Billiards War from an inmate in Bellavista prison. It was described to me by Carlos, a member of a neighborhood gang who had started selling drugs at the age of fourteen.

#2

In Medellín, Colombia, gangs control most of the neighborhoods, and the prisons are their Strongholds. The prison complex of Bellavista is at the center of this citywide contest, because that’s where most of the coordinadores live.

#3

The Billiards War never happened in Medellín. El Mesa grew in power, but they never fought the other gangs. They simply negotiated with them and took some of their territory. This has been the case in Medellín for decades, as most opponents have chosen not to fight.

#4

The calculus of compromise explains why most rivals avoid war. It is a simple strategic logic that explains why most sides prefer to find a peaceful split rather than going to war.

#5

The more destructive our weapons are, the easier it is to find peace. As long as war is costly, there will be a bargaining range. This means we shouldn’t expect especially poor places to be inherently more conflict prone.

#6

The principle that rivals have incentives to bargain and transfer resources to avoid wasteful outcomes is applicable to military conflict as well as commerce. It explains why peace is resilient even when power is unequally held.

#7

The five reasons for wars are: unchecked interests, intangible incentives, uncertainty, commitment problems, and misperceptions. While war is the exception, not the rule, remember that there are mechanisms in place to keep it that way.

#8

The dejected warlord stared into his beer. Liberia is a land with riches for those willing and able to harness its wealth, the fairy tale goes. But those riches could be developed by men with vision, and they had to be forcefully taken by force if necessary.

#9

White Flower, the young White Flower, was a warlord who controlled the Sinoe Rubber Plantation. He was a terrible manager of money, and after a few months, his windfall was gone. He wanted a job on my project team.

#10

War bias occurs when the people who decide whether or not to launch a conflict have a set of risks and rewards different from the society they supposedly represent. In