Судя по всем описаниям, теория заключается в том, что войны как внешние конфликты часто затеваются для отвлечения от внутренних проблем или для решения внутренних задач (например, правительство развязывает войну, чтобы поднять свой рейтинг или предупредить внутренние социальные конфликты).


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 15 mins (2006-03-19 18:00:09 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

http://www.ccc.nps.navy.mil/si/2004/may/bakerMay04.asp

While the realist school of international relations holds that virtually all international behavior can be explained through such exogenous factors as the prevailing level of international tension and strategic balance, the diversionary theory of war posits that such internal domestic factors as presidential approval, election cycles, and the state of the economy may affect decisions to employ force as well. [19]The popular presumption that presidents will turn to military adventurism to divert attention from dismal economic conditions, faltering popularity ratings or pending electoral misfortune is well represented both historically and in the mainstream media, and owes much to the in-group/out-group hypotheses found in the sociological literature.[20] Domestic considerations in both London and Buenos Aires undoubtedly played a role in the escalation of the Falklands War in 1982,[21] and when the New York Times reported in August 1992 that the Bush Administration was considering military action against Iraq in order to bolster the President's reelection chances—a charge angrily denied by the White House—the presumption that a President might take the nation into battle to secure his own political objectives appeared to be widespread.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 15 mins (2006-03-19 18:00:48 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

PDF] The Elusive Diversionary Theory of War and Panama, 1989:Формат файла: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - В виде HTML
The diversionary theory of war, or “the idea that political leaders sometimes embark on. risky foreign ventures in an attempt to achieve diplomatic or ...
www.asu.edu/clas/polisci/cqrm/APSA2004/Cramer.pdf

Тут не могу скопировать цитату из текста.