Category: War and Politics

Chapter 1, “Bargaining and War”

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December 15, 2017

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International Relations Theory, Introduction to International Relations, War and Politics

Chapter 1, “Bargaining and War,” by Dan Reiter

Over the last two decades, the study of conflict has been dominated by the bargaining perspective on war.  This chapter introduces undergraduates to the bargaining view of war in a simple, thorough, and approachable fashion, using almost no math.  It presents the basic puzzle of the bargaining model of war: if two sides both knew who would win, why would they fight?  It discusses the three canonical solutions to this puzzle, information, commitment credibility, and indivisibility.  It then moves beyond examining the causes of war, applying bargaining insights to diplomacy during war, war termination, and civil wars.  After reviewing salient critiques of the bargaining model, it presents a case study of World War II in the Pacific, and reviews a quantitative study applying the bargaining model to international peacekeeping.

Most appropriate for introduction to international relations and war and politics classes.

What Makes This Chapter Different?

●Most readable explanation of the bargaining model of war on the market
●Application to causes of war, intrawar dynamics, and war termination
●Application to interstate and intrastate conflict
●Unique case study on World War II in the Pacific

Dr. Dan Reiter is the Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Political Science at Emory University. He is the author of several articles and books on international relations, including the award-winning How Wars End (Princeton, 2009).

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Chapter 2, “International Alliances”

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December 14, 2017

7:47 pm

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International Relations Theory, Introduction to International Relations, War and Politics

Chapter 2, “International Alliances,” by Dan Reiter

This chapter covers international alliances, the most important institutions in all of international relations.  This chapter moves beyond traditional treatments of alliances focusing on balance of power and polarity.  Instead, the chapter builds on contemporary alliance research, focusing on alliances as institutions, and on the central question of why states comply with alliance treaty requirements even under anarchy.  The chapter tackles the critical questions of alliances, such as how alliances aggregate military power, how alliances deter, the role of international and domestic audience costs in encouraging compliance, the importance of variations in alliance types, and more. The chapter demonstrates these ideas with a case study of the onset of World War I, and a summary of a quantitative study evaluating how alliance commitments shape decisions to enter wars.

Most appropriate for classes on war and politics, international institutions, and international relations theory.

Why this chapter is different:

●Only review of alliances on the market that is appropriate for undergraduate readers and reflects current scholarly understanding of alliances
●Case study applying alliance insights to the onset of World War I
●Application to contemporary policy debates, including debates in the Trump administration about American’s commitments to NATO and other alliances

Dr. Dan Reiter is the Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Political Science at Emory University. He is the award-winning author of several articles on alliances and NATO in particular, as well as Crucible of Beliefs: Learning, Alliances, and World Wars (Cornell, 1996).

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Chapter 3, “Nuclear Weapons”

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December 13, 2017

7:48 pm

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International Relations Theory, International Security, Introduction to International Relations, US Foreign Policy, War and Politics

Chapter 3, “Nuclear Weapons,” by Michael C. Horowitz

This chapter covers nuclear weapons, the most destructive and politically significant weapons ever developed, combining history, science, theory, and policy.  Students will learn about the development of the first nuclear weapon in the Manhattan Project, and the development of Cold War nuclear arsenals, including modern means of weapons delivery.  They will be introduced to core concepts of nuclear deterrence, nuclear coercion, arms control, and stability theory.  The chapter presents an extensive discussion of nuclear proliferation, why states acquire nuclear weapons, is nuclear proliferation fundamentally stabilizing or dangerous, and what kinds of policies can slow proliferation and make it safer.  The chapter includes a case study on the critical question of nuclear weapons and North Korea, and a summary of a quantitative study examining whether alliances can prevent proliferation.

Most appropriate for classes on war and politics and US foreign policy

Why this chapter is different:

●Comprehensive treatment of all issues pertinent to nuclear weapons in a compact, readable essay
●Integrated discussion of nuclear history, theory, and policy
●Case study applying chapter insights to North Korea

Dr. Michael C. Horowitz is Professor of Political Science and Associate Director of the Perry World House at the University of Pennsylvania.  He is the author of several leading articles on nuclear weapons, as well as the award-winning The Diffusion of Military Power (Princeton, 2010).

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Chapter 4, “Leaders, Institutions, and Foreign Policy”

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December 12, 2017

7:49 pm

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International Relations Theory, War and Politics

Chapter 4, “Leaders, Institutions, and Foreign Policy,” by Michael C. Horowitz

This chapter is one of the only undergraduate textbook essays on leaders in international conflict.  It surveys all the critical elements connecting leadership to international relations, including how leaders come to power, the nature and origins of leaders’ beliefs, the impacts of leaders’ personal backgrounds, gender and leadership, ideology, how domestic political institutions do and do not constrain leaders, and others.  The chapter includes a case study of the role of leadership in the outbreak of World War I, and a  summary of a quantitative study on leadership and the spread of nuclear weapons.

Most appropriate for classes on war and politics and international relations theory.

Why this chapter is different:

●Only comprehensive, contemporary treatment of leadership and international relations on the market
●Integrated discussion of leaders and how political institutions shape (or do not shape) leaders’ prerogatives
●Unique case study of World War I and leadership

Dr. Michael C. Horowitz is Professor of Political Science and Associate Director of the Perry World House at the University of Pennsylvania.  He is the author of several leading articles on leaders in international relations, as well as coauthor of Why Leaders Fight (Cambridge, 2015).

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Chapter 5, “Public Opinion and Conflict”

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December 11, 2017

7:50 pm

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International Relations Theory, US Foreign Policy, War and Politics

Chapter 5, “Public Opinion and Conflict,” by Christopher Gelpi

This chapter explores the connections between public opinion and international conflict, and especially the determinants of public support for war.  These questions have long been of central interest to international relations and political science more broadly, becoming even more salient since 2001 because of the American engagements in Afghanistan and Iraq.  The chapter provides students with the essential tools needed to understand these questions.  It starts with an introduction to polling techniques and fundamental theories of opinion formation. The chapter next works through the central debates about the determinants of support for war, focusing on how casualty levels and perceptions of the likelihood of victory affect support.  The chapter includes a case study and summary of a quantitative study that focus on public opinion during the Iraq War.

Most appropriate for classes on war and politics, and public opinion.

What makes this chapter different:

●Only chapter on the market providing comprehensive, compact, cutting edge discussion of public opinion and war
●Extensive discussion of the crucial Iraq War case
●Approachable writing style, no statistics or quantitative background necessary

Dr. Christopher Gelpi is Professor and Chair of Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution at the Ohio State University.   He is the author of several leading articles on public opinion and conflict, as well as coauthor of the award-winning Paying the Human Costs of War: American Public Opinion and Casualties in Military Conflicts (Princeton, 2009).

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Chapter 6, “Economics and War”

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December 10, 2017

7:52 pm

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Political Economy, War and Politics

Chapter 6, “Economics and War,” by Paul Poast

This chapter is one of the first essays ever published that explains the economics of war to undergraduates.  It focuses on how governments pay for their armies, in war and peace.  It begins with the canonical guns vs. butter tradeoff.  The chapter then moves through a number of choices governments face when deciding how to mobilize for war, including: taxation or borrowing; using private military contractors or citizen-soldiers; building conscript or volunteer militaries; producing weapons domestically or purchasing them from foreign sources.  The chapter also explains how economic factors like trade interdependence can bolster peace.  The chapter includes a case study on taxation in the US during the World Wars, and a summary of a quantitative study exploring whether availability of international credit helps a state win a war.

Most appropriate for classes on war and politics, and political economy.

What makes this chapter different:

●First ever undergraduate-appropriate essay on the economics of war
●Comprehensive coverage of relevant topics accounts for contemporary scholarship
●Approachable coverage, no economics background necessary.

Dr. Paul Poast is assistant professor of political science at the University of Chicago.  He is the author of several leading articles on economics and war, as well as The Economics of War (McGraw-Hill, 2006).

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Chapter 7, “Third Party Peacemaking and Peacekeeping”

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December 9, 2017

7:53 pm

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War and Politics

Chapter 7, “Third Party Peacemaking and Peacekeeping,” by Kyle Beardsley

Members of the global community, including the United Nations, aim to resolve the world’s most intractable conflicts using mediation, peacekeeping missions, and other conflict resolution tools.  Can such efforts work?  This chapter, written by one of the field’s foremost experts, answers this question.  The chapter lays out the basic ideas of peacemaking and peacekeeping, developing a conceptual framework that explains how these efforts are intended to help belligerents end conflict and build lasting peace.  The chapter then works through the potential limitations of peacemaking and peacekeeping, presenting a balanced perspective assessing if and when these efforts can succeed.  The chapter includes a case study on peacemaking and peacekeeping in the Great Lakes region of Central Africa, and a summary of a quantitative study of mediation and interstate conflict.

Most appropriate for classes on war and politics, and conflict resolution.

What makes this chapter different:

●Comprehensive, approachable, theoretically informed account integrates the central issues pertaining to peacemaking and peacebuilding.
●Treats a critical policy issue with conceptual structure and historical context.
●Careful case study of important recent attempts at peacekeeping and peacebuilding amidst spiraling violence in the African Great Lakes region.

Dr. Kyle Beardsley is associate professor of political science at Duke University. He is the author of several leading articles on mediation and peacekeeping and The Mediation Dilemma (Cornell, 2011). He is also coauthor of the award-winning Equal Opportunity Peacekeeping: Women, Peace, and Security in Post-Conflict States (Oxford, 2017).

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Chapter 8, “Civil Wars”

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December 8, 2017

7:54 pm

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Introduction to International Relations, War and Politics

Chapter 8, “Civil Wars,” by Kathleen Gallagher Cunningham

The deadliest and most widespread form of political violence today is civil war.  Any class on political violence must address conflicts within as well as between states.  This chapter comprehensively presents theories on the causes, duration, and termination of civil wars, written by a leading scholar of civil war.  It first provides an extensive introduction to civil wars, describing different types of issues civil wars are usually fought over.  It then provides a readable, contemporary discussion of key factors affecting civil war, including greed and grievance, relative deprivation, identity politics, state capacity, indivisibility, actor fragmentation, foreign fighters, and others.  The chapter includes a case study of the most important  and deadly civil war of the 2010s, the Syrian Civil War, as well as a summary of a quantitative study on whether peacekeepers succeed.

Most appropriate for classes on war and politics, political violence, and introduction to international relations.

Why this chapter is different:

●Most comprehensive treatment of civil war-related issues in a compact essay
●Coverage that accounts for the most contemporary theoretical and empirical scholarship
●Case study of the Syrian Civil War

Dr. Kathleen Gallagher Cunningham is associate professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland.  She is the author of several leading articles on civil wars, and of the award-winning book Inside the Politics of Self-Determination (Oxford, 2015).

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Chapter 9, “Environment and Conflict”

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December 7, 2017

7:54 pm

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Environmental Politics, War and Politics

Chapter 9, “Environment and Conflict,” by Cullen Hendrix

Environmental degradation and natural resource competition are linked to nearly all forms of political violence.  This chapter is unique: a comprehensive, theoretically informed, and up to date treatment of environment, resources, and conflict, written for an undergraduate audience.  The chapter builds on the classic tragedy of the commons insight to lay out how, when, and where different forms of environmental degradation and resource consumption – and climate change – can make political violence more likely.  It includes a case study of the Syrian Civil War, examining the argument that the war may have been caused at least in part by the worst drought Syria had experienced in some 900 years.  There is also a summary of a quantitative case study on the possible connections between drought and conflict.

Most appropriate for classes on introduction to international relations, war and politics, and environmental politics.

Why this chapter is different:

●Only approachable, scholarly treatment of environment, resources and conflict on the market written for undergraduate readers.
●Written by a leading scholar in environmental sources of conflict.
●Links together scholarly arguments and current policy concerns, such as the potential conflict-causing dynamics of climate change.

Dr. Cullen Hendrix is associate professor of international studies at the University of Denver.  He is the author of several leading articles on environment, resources, and violent conflict, as well as Confronting the Curse: The Economics and Geopolitics of Natural Resource Governance (Peterson Institute for International Economics, 2014, with Marcus Noland).

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Chapter 10, “Drone Warfare,” by Sarah Kreps

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December 6, 2017

1:44 pm

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International Security, US Foreign Policy, War and Politics

Drone strikes have become America’s principal weapon in its war on terror, and have been increasingly embraced by other countries as well as insurgent groups like the Islamic State.  This chapter covers drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, as weapons of war. It first describes how drone technology evolved. It then moves to the contemporary context, detailing how the United States uses drones for counterterrorism in ways that have transformed the battlefield and spurred interest in drone acquisition by others. This chapter takes stock of how drones change the way war is fought, whether drone strikes are legal, ethical, and effective, what drone proliferation means for regional and international security, how drones affect the democratic conduct of war, and the future of drone warfare. The chapter addresses these questions with a case study of drone strikes in Pakistan and a summary of a quantitative study that evaluates the effectiveness of drone strikes.

Most appropriate for classes on war and politics, international security, and US foreign policy.

Why this chapter is different:

●Only analysis of drone warfare that incorporates current scholarly analysis and targets undergraduate readers
●Case study that applies insights to a specific context of Pakistan, the location where the United States has engaged in the most drone strikes
●Relevance to ongoing policy debates about perpetual war, the separation of powers in wartime, and effective counterterrorism strategy

Dr. Sarah Kreps is Associate Professor of Government and Adjunct Professor of Law at Cornell University. She is the author of several books, including Drone Warfare (Polity Press, 2014; with John Kaag) and Drones: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford University Press, 2016).