**Fear can motivate preemptive attack.** Fearful states will arm themselves in anticipation of war. [According to](https://www.un.org/press/en/1997/19970129.sgsm6151.html#:~:text=DCF%2F284-,WEAPONS%20DO%20NOT%20CAUSE%20WAR%2C%20BUT%20EXCESS%20OF%20ARMS%20BREEDS,SECRETARY%2DGENERAL%20TELLS%20DISARMAMENT%20CONFERENCE&text=Ten%20years%20ago%2C%20even%20the,war%20to%20end%20so%20abruptly.) a speech delivered by the UN Secretary General at the time of the 1997 disarmament conference, Kofi Annan, _"weapons do not cause war, but excess of arms breeds mistrust, heightens tensions and leads to conflict,,"_ - A common example is the militarism and the arms race in 1900s Europe, [considered catalysts](https://alphahistory.com/worldwar1/militarism/) of the First World War that followed. Fear that another will attack first, or that the other is "irrational", can lead to a disruption of order through preemptive conflict. A state can [interpret its own fear](https://web.stanford.edu/~jacksonm/war-overview.pdf) as reason to attack - _"attacking first is preferable to being attacked,"_ [even when](https://web.stanford.edu/~jacksonm/war-overview.pdf) the outcome of war is more costly than its avoidance. When fearful of oppression or eradication, groups may [seek violence](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/105761099265676) as an 'effective' means of protecting themselves. When fear is coupled with a conviction in the efficacy of violence, the consequences are dire. - Though the cited study particularly focuses on communal violence, these sentiments may be generalisable to groups interacting at an international scale recognising that the fear of "dominion and extinction" that the study cites is akin to concerns that states posses in international power dynamics - Communal and civil war themselves can disrupt international order. The displacement of targeted groups for example, leads to refugee crises that impact the globe. - In this light, fear within a state can be manipulated by state actors with malicious intents - politicians can use fear to advance political agendas and potentially cause rifts between ethnic or social groups, as observed on multiple occasions in [Hindu-Muslim tensions in India](https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/responses/british-rule-and-hindu-muslim-riots-in-india-a-reassessment), for example. These internal conflicts impact [international relations and politics](https://foreignpolicy.com/2014/07/02/remnants-of-partition/). [Pashakhanlou](https://www.e-ir.info/author/arash-heydarian-pashakhanlou/), a Swedish Professor of War Studies, presents [an interpretation](https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783319410111) of prominent realist political theory on the role of fear. [According to his review](https://www.e-ir.info/2020/09/02/fear-as-driver-of-international-relations/), "fear is the prime motivator of war" and a fear of war "overcomes the potential benefit that can accrue from cooperation."

**Fear is an emotion and emotion tends to govern our actions even to the extent of maintaining international order.** • [“International order is the sum of certain rules and principles established by all countries”](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/276345346_International_Order_Maintenance_Mechanisms_in_the_Contemporary_System_of_International_Relations). This is something that will be governed by fear, but some would argue this is not the only emotion at play - maybe compassion is involved, or hostility, or peace. There are different factors which will impact the maintenance of international order, suggesting fear is not the only thing that keeps the peace. • To place this discussion contextually, it’s helpful to consider the work of [classical realists such as Thomas Hobbes and Machiavelli]( https://www.e-ir.info/2020/11/01/fear-in-international-relations/). For example, _Hobbes_ believed “fear played a crucial role in creating our social institutions”, similarly to how _Machiavelli_ “advised the Prince that it was much safer to be feared than loved”. Evidently, the topic of fear and emotion in maintaining international order, has been around a long time but _still_ remains relevant. • There is evidence that fear governs our actions and behaviour. Cited as [one of the most powerful human emotions](https://academyofideas.com/2015/11/fear-and-social-control/), fear can be particularly persuasive. It is acknowledged that whilst some fears are imagined, others are manipulated and “created by those in positions of power”. Fear as a means of social control is not unheard of. It’s an effective way of controlling how people think; sometimes rationally and sometimes not. In summary, when considering international order, emotion is involved.