What Thucydides says about this war. political science Essay

What Thucydides says about this war. political science - Essay Example This poses a very difficult situation for city-states with inadequate forces. Throughout the Peloponnesian War, considerably weaker city states go ally with those of greater military capabilities. Back then there were two coalitions that equally hold significant forces to be reckoned with, the Athenians with their naval supremacy, and the Peloponnesian who are highly adept in fighting using ground forces with Sparta at its helm. City-states and colonies with disputes align themselves to the either league to gain advantage over impending hostilities and win agreeable settlements (Blanco). In my opinion this war is ideally represented by the bargaining model of war presented by Retier which states that â€Å"war as a continuation of the bargaining process, rather than a breakdown. Fighting breaks out when two sides cannot reach a bargain that both prefer to war and each side fights to improve its chances of getting a desirable settlement† (27). This model is further supported by the rational causes of war presented by Fearon. Two out of three reasons he presented satisfies the emergence of the Peloponnesian war, namely: â€Å"War due to private information and incentives to misrepresent† (390) and that â€Å"War as a consequence of commitment problems†