Unchecked Leaders Don't Internalize War's Costs

The third cause of war is unchecked leaders: when the decision-maker does not bear the costs of war—or has private incentives to fight, such as preserving an apparatus of control threatened by democracy, capitalism, or NATO—the normal deterrent of war's costliness is weakened, and the private benefit to the ruling cabal can overwhelm the costs they personally bear, making war attractive even when it would harm the population.