Military defeat historically triggers either radical adventure or sullen withdrawal

Evidence

Defeat in war has often provoked radical change. Sometimes, as in Germany and Russia after the First World War, it can lead to far-reaching political and economic adventures. Sometimes, on the other hand, it may lead to a mood of sullen withdrawal and resentment, as happened to the South after the American Civil War and to Spain after the defeat in Cuba in 1898. — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 914

Categorization

• SEED: Could be an essay: defeat as fork-in-the-road — the two distinct psychological trajectories nations take after losing wars, and what determines which path.