Since the early 1990s an important literature on the causes and intensity of conflict has emerged. Initiated by seminal work of Hirshleifer (1991, 1995) and Grossman (1991), several analysts have considered how rational agents allocate their endowments across productive and appropriative activities to maximize their payoffs. Since conflict, in various forms, has played a major role throughout human history - shaping the development trajectory of civilization - improving our understanding of the nature of conflict appears extremely useful. A slightly awkward feature of the conflict literature...

This study examines the traditional interpretation of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and the Navy's quarantine of the island A bevy of Political scientists, and even a few historians, have complied and impressive literature on the Cuban Missile Crisis, but most accounts draw heavily on the memoirs of former Kennedy insiders, especially Robert Kennedy and Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. Based on recently declassified records and Interviews with participants, this study corrects some of the misinterpretation of naval operations, reveals new evidence about U.S. intelligence, and throws into doubt the...