Selfish war doctrine

A political posture where leaders and their partisan bases support the use of military force only insofar as it produces direct, short‑term material or symbolic gains for the nation, explicitly rejecting obligations to allied reconstruction, multilateral institutions, or long‑term stabilization. It treats war as a transactional tool rather than a component of a rules‑based international order, reshaping party alignment on foreign policy. — If ascendant, this doctrine alters alliance behavior, lowers the bar for limited interventions framed as national benefit, and reshapes electoral incentives for future conflicts.