Impact of War on Interstate Relations: A Rivalry perspective

Author : Shinta Puspitasari

Abstract : This paper argues that war shaping the rivalry relationship between states beyond simply ending or creating a rivalry relationship: it can also transform a rivalry dynamic between states, which in turn prolong the existing rivalry relationship. The focus of this paper is the impact of war on interstate relations from the study of rivalry’s perspective. The main goal of this study is to analyse the impact of war to interstate relations, especially with rivalry as the main focus. War has a role in shaping international system, creation of new state or destruction of one state, which then lead to the creation of new dynamics in international relations. According to militaristic rivalry theory, war is the only aspect that is counted when labelling interstate relations as rivalry. Similar to its effect to the international system, war (especially big war) has a distinctive impact in the interstate rivalry, such as creating new rival states, ending it, and/or prolong the existing rivalry relationship, which lead to shifting the dynamic of interstate rivalry.

Keywords : War, International Relations, Rivalry.

Conference Name : International Conference on Global Politics and International Relations (ICGPIRS - 26)

Conference Place : Nice, France

Conference Date : 13th Oct 2026