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This book is designed to present a fully developed theory of international crisis and conflict, along with substantial evidence of these two closely related phenomena. The book begins with a discussion of these topics at a theoretical level, defining and elaborating on core concepts: international crisis, interstate conflict, severity, and impact. This is followed by a discussion of the international system, along with two significant illustrations, the Berlin Blockade crisis (1948) and the India-Pakistan crisis over Kashmir (1965-66). The book then presents a unified model of crisis, focusing on the four phases of an international crisis, which incorporate the four periods of foreign policy crises for individual states. Findings from thirteen conflicts representing six regional clusters are then analyzed, concluding with a set of hypotheses and evidence on conflict onset, persistence, and resolution.
List of contents
1. Multiple Paths to Knowledge .- 2. Theory I: Core Concepts and Systems .- 3. Theory II: Unified Model of Crisis (UMC) and the ICB Framework .- 4. General Findings: Foreign Policy Crises .- 5. Theory III: Interstate Conflicts .- 6. Select Case Study Findings on Interstate Conflict: Africa and Americas .- 7. Select Case Study Findings on Interstate Conflict: Asia .- 8. Select Case Study Findings on Interstate Conflict: Europe and the Middle East .- 9. Select Case Study Findings on Interstate Conflict: Inter-Region .- 10. What Have We Learned about Interstate Conflict? .- 11. Critique of International Studies.
About the author
Michael Brecher is the R.B. Angus Professor of Political Science at McGill University, Canada.
Summary
This book is designed to present a fully developed theory of international crisis and conflict, along with substantial evidence of these two closely related phenomena. The book begins with a discussion of these topics at a theoretical level, defining and elaborating on core concepts: international crisis, interstate conflict, severity, and impact. This is followed by a discussion of the international system, along with two significant illustrations, the Berlin Blockade crisis (1948) and the India-Pakistan crisis over Kashmir (1965-66). The book then presents a unified model of crisis, focusing on the four phases of an international crisis, which incorporate the four periods of foreign policy crises for individual states. Findings from thirteen conflicts representing six regional clusters are then analyzed, concluding with a set of hypotheses and evidence on conflict onset, persistence, and resolution.
