Replication Data for: Complex Interstate Rivals

The study of rivalry is an important research program within the field of International Politics. However, most work on this subject treats rivalry as a dyadic phenomenon when in reality it can sometime s be characterized as a relationship between groups of states. The goal of this paper is to engage the concept of rivalry, analyze its deficiencies, and then empirically identify which groups of states make up what we call triadic complex rivals. Once the cases that make up complex rival groups are described, this analysis will examine the dynamics of conflict within complex rivalries. We show that complex rivals tend to experience a different path to war when compared to dyadic rivals in that they experience more war on average, are more likely to include major powers, are primarily made of positional rivals, and engage in more complex wars than would be expected by chance. Distinguishing between a typology of dyadic and complex rivalries will aid theorists and researchers in the investigation of the causes and consequences of rivalry relations, and conflict in general since we must move beyond the assumption rivalry is a dyadic phenomenon.