Conflict, Crisis, and War in World Politics

This topical textbook outlines conflict, crisis, and war as central challenges in the international security arena, exploring their history, evolution, nature, dynamics, and trends. Patrick James and James M. Scott discuss the major approaches to analysing conflict, crisis, and war and identify the key avenues for managing them.

Engaging with major scholarly work, the textbook combines scientific realism, analytic eclecticism, and the multilevel and graphic approach of systemism to establish the meaning and importance of theory and linkages across levels of analysis. Reflecting on policy and practice, James and Scott explore system, state and individual level explanations of conflict, crisis, and war, and review the nature and effectiveness of key approaches to their management and prevention. They ultimately advocate for an integrated approach that addresses and connects multiple levels of analysis for a more thorough and nuanced understanding.

Key Features:

• Applies an innovative approach with unique visual tools
• Encourages comprehension of major concepts, theories, and practices and critical thinking
• Includes core feature boxes which present real-world applications to illustrate a concept and reflect on a point of explanation in greater depth

Theoretically informed and conceptually innovative, this textbook is vital to students and scholars of international politics, international relations, and terrorism and security.