What Do We Know about War? 3/e

Sara McLaughlin Mitchell is the F. Wendell Miller Professor of Political Science at the University of Iowa. She is the author of five books and more than fifty journal articles and book chapters. Her areas of expertise include international conflict, political methodology, and gender issues in academia. Professor Mitchell is cofounder of the Journeys in World Politics workshop, a mentoring workshop for junior IR women. She received the ISA Quincy Wright Distinguished Scholar Award (2015), a distinguished alumni award from Iowa State University, and she served as president of the Peace Science Society.

John A. Vasquez is the Thomas B. Mackie Scholar in International Relations at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. His books include The War Puzzle, The Power of Power Politics, The Steps to War (with Paul Senese), Contagion and War: Lessons from the First World War, and What Do We Know About War? (first and second editions). He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the APSA Conflict Processes Section, and he has served as president of the Peace Science Society and the International Studies Association.

Preface

Introduction

Sara McLaughlin Mitchell and John A. Vasquez

PART I: FACTORS THAT BRING ABOUT WAR

1 Territory and Contentious Issues

Paul R. Hensel and Hein Goemans

2 Dyadic Power Distributions and War

Daniel S. Morey and Kelly M. Kadera

3 Deterrence Theory and Alliance Politics

Michael R. Kenwick and Roseanne W. McManus

4 Arms Races

Susan G. Sample

5 Rivalries and Crisis Bargaining

Seden Akcinaroglu and Elizabeth Radziszewski

6 Nuclear Weapons

Matthew Fuhrmann

7 Outcomes and Consequences of War

Stephen L. Quackenbush

PART II: FACTORS THAT PROMOTE PEACE

8 The Liberal Peace

Michael Mousseau

9 The Territorial Peace: Current and Future Research

Douglas M. Gibler and Steven V. Miller

10 The Peace Puzzle: Understanding Transitions to Peace

Andrew P. Owsiak, Paul F. Diehl, and Gary Goertz

11 Conflict Management of Territorial and Maritime Disputes

Emilia Justyna Powell and Krista E. Wiegand

PART III: EMERGING TRENDS IN INTERSTATE WAR RESEARCH

12 Cyber War

Brandon Valeriano, Ryan C. Maness, and Benjamin Jensen

13 The Environment and Conflict: Water Wars

Sara McLaughlin Mitchell and Yufan Yang

14 Leaders and War

Scott Wolford

15 War Financing and Foreign Debt

Rosella Cappella Zielinski and Paul Poast

16 Trends in Interstate Conflict

Bear F. Braumoeller

PART IV: CONCLUSION

17 Some Brief Observations on the Contemporary Study of War

William R. Thompson

18 War and the Orient Express

Andrew P. Owsiak and Douglas B. Atkinson

19 What Do We Know about War?

Sara McLaughlin Mitchell and John A. Vasquez

References

Name Index

Subject Index

About the Contributors

Solving the puzzle of war has dominated the attention of scholars and policy makers alike for decades. The new edition of What Do We Know about War? gauges the knowledge ascertained about the causes of war and the conditions of peace by the scientific community since the publication of the first edition, more than twenty years ago. In addition, it provides insights into new areas of research and concludes with reflections on what we have learned. This book is an essential read for academics, policy makers, and students interested in questions of war and peace. — Faten Ghosn, University of Arizona

This new volume features an expanded cast of experts who have written entirely original chapters, often about new topics not covered in previous editions in the series. The volume even boasts a new co-editor, Sara McLaughlin Mitchell. She and John Vasquez have done something rather difficult: they have taken an excellent collection and made it even better! What Do We Know About War? is as important for advanced-undergraduate and graduate courses as it is for scholars conducting their own research on war. — Douglas Lemke, Pennsylvania State University

The third edition of What Do We Know About War? continues in the tradition of previous editions. It is an extremely valuable resource for both students and scholars of international conflict. Each chapter provides an excellent overview of our knowledge and a roadmap of where we should go in the future. It is required reading for both students seeking knowledge and scholars embarking on their own research in international conflict. — Richard J. Stoll, Rice University