Understanding Near Crises and Escalation in World Politics

This book analyses the near crisis phase of conflict and escalation in world politics.

Time-sensitive disputes between states, and even with violent non-state actors, do not involve significant risk of military escalation, at least in the moment. Investigating how and why some near crises escalate, while others do not, requires an explanation of the different dynamics of international disputes and the policy tools that states and international institutions can employ. This volume examines cases such as Hezbollah’s 2006 cross-border raid, the 2015 Iranian Ballistic Missile Test, and the 1995 Norwegian Black Brant Missile Launch to reveal there is much to be learned about the full process of (de)-escalation once the near crisis stage is included, as well as from cases that did not escalate to crisis. Overall, this volume contributes toward higher levels of understanding about how and why some international conflicts escalate while others do not.

This book will be of much interest to students of security studies, conflict studies, foreign policy and International Relations.