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First published in 1988, this historical and quantitative analysis of war defines systemic world wars as conflicts of wide scope and intensity, which leave profound historical legacies in their wake. Manus Midlarsky examines various possible explanations for the onset of such past wars as the Peloponnesian War, the Thirty Years’ War, and World Wars I and II. Midlarsky develops his basic theory of systemic war, outlining the reasons for the absence of wars of this magnitude and describing the violations of certain structural conditions that are associated with the onset of world war. A timely and relevant reissue, this insightful analysis will be of particular value to those with an interest in International Relations, War and Peace Studies, Military History, and Security Studies.
Political extremism is one of the most pernicious, destructive, and nihilistic forms of human expression. During the twentieth century, in excess of 100 million people had their lives taken from them as the result of extremist violence. In this wide-ranging book Manus I. Midlarsky suggests that ephemeral gains, together with mortality salience, form basic explanations for the origins of political extremism and constitute a theoretical framework that also explains later mass violence. Midlarsky applies his framework to multiple forms of political extremism, including the rise of Italian, Hungarian and Romanian fascism, Nazism, radical Islamism, and Soviet, Chinese and Cambodian communism. Other applications include a rampaging military (Japan, Pakistan, Indonesia) and extreme nationalism in Serbia, Croatia, the Ottoman Empire and Rwanda. Polish anti-Semitism after World War II and the rise of separatist violence in Sri Lanka are also examined.
The Killing Trap offers a comparative analysis of the genocides, politicides and ethnic cleansings of the twentieth century, which are estimated to have cost upwards of forty million lives. The book seeks to understand both the occurrence and magnitude of genocide, based on the conviction that such comparative analysis may contribute towards prevention of genocide in the future. Manus Midlarsky compares socio-economic circumstances and international contexts and includes in his analysis the Jews of Europe, Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Tutsi in Rwanda, black Africans in Darfur, Cambodians, Bosnians, and the victims of conflict in Ireland. The occurrence of genocide is explained by means of a framework that gives equal emphasis to the non-occurrence of genocide, a critical element not found in other comparisons, and victims are given a prominence equal to that of perpetrators in understanding the magnitude of genocide.
Offering a comparative analysis of the mass genocides, politicides and ethnic cleansings of the twentieth century, this book sheds light on the occurrence as well as the magnitude of genocide. Based on the conviction that such comparative analysis may contribute towards the prevention of genocide in the future, Manus Midlarsky compares socio-economic circumstances and international contexts and includes in his analysis the Jews of Europe, Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Tutsi in Rwanda, black Africans in Darfur, Cambodians, Bosnians, and the victims of conflict in Northern Ireland.
First published in 1992, this edited collection argues that conflicts have a growing tendency both to intensify and to lengthen, thus increasing the likelihood of external actors being drawn into the on-going violence. Here, leading experts in comparative and international politics examine this tendency of communal conflicts to spill over into the international arena. They also look at the conditions under which these processes do not occur and are mediated successfully. The authors combine theoretical perspectives with case studies, covering examples from the origins of the First World War, to state building in Iraq, and whether it was a precursor of the Iran-Iraq War and the Gulf Crisis. They present both a global overview and a focus on the state as the single most important intermediary in the internationalization process. A comprehensive and relevant reissue, this volume will appeal to students and scholars of International Relations, Comparative Politics and Strategic Studies.
First published in 1989, the Handbook of War Studies offers a systematic overview of empirically based theories of international conflict. In this definitive sourcebook, leading scholars of international relations provide a comprehensive survey of contemporary theorries and methodological approaches to the study of war. This comprehensive volume will be essential reading for students and teachers of international relations, military and strategic studies, and war and peace studies.
In a book that challenges the most widely held ideas of why individuals engage in collective conflict, Russell Hardin offers a timely, crucial explanation of group action in its most destructive forms. Contrary to those observers who attribute group violence to irrationality, primordial instinct, or complex psychology, Hardin uncovers a systematic exploitation of self-interest in the underpinnings of group identification and collective violence. Using examples from Mafia vendettas to ethnic violence in places such as Bosnia and Rwanda, he describes the social and economic circumstances that set this violence into motion. Hardin explains why hatred alone does not necessarily start wars but ho...
Forty-five prominent scholars engage in self-critical, state-of-the-art reflection on international studies to stimulate debates about successes and failures and to address the larger question of progress in the discipline. Written especially for the collection, these essays are in hardcover in the form of an easy-to-use handbook, and in paperback as a number of separate titles, each of which consists of a particular thematic cluster to merge with the range of topics taught in undergraduate and graduate courses in international studies. The themes addressed are realism, institutionalism, critical perspectives, feminist theory and gender studies, methodology (formal modeling, quantitative, an...
This book studies the structural inequalities between states as they evolve and influence the political process, analyzing various forms of political violence, the dissolution of states, and the sources of cooperation between states. The ultimate genesis of democracy is shown to be a consequence of the processes detailed in the book.
Mass Atrocities, Risk and Resilience examines the relationship between risk and resilience in the prevention of genocide and other mass atrocities and explores two broad areas of neglect. In terms of prevention, there is very little research that analyzes how local and national actors manage the risk associated with mass atrocities. In the field of comparative genocide studies, to date there has been very little interest in examining negative cases. Although much is known about why mass atrocities occur, much less is established about why they do not occur. The contributions in this book address this neglect in two important ways. First, they challenge commonly-accepted approaches to prevention. Second, they explore negative cases in order to better understand how local and national actors have mitigated risk over time.