Balazs Szanto - Böcker

This book provides a critical overview of the occurrence of war in the international system by examining the concept from multiple perspectives and theoretical backgrounds.War is an essential concept in international affairs, if for no other reason than because prevention of war requires an in-depth understanding of it as a concept. This book seeks to examine the continued occurrence of war in international relations, despite the emergence of arguments concerning its obsolescence. It provides a new cognitive framework through which to understand war as a phenomenon, which can be applied to real-world scenarios and policy issues, making use of case studies predominantly from China and Japan. Theoretically, the book is primarily based on a structural realist framework but adopts a significant constructivist component through the emphasis on identity and reputation in the international system. The volume offers a nuanced yet holistic approach to the theory of war and seeks to engage critically with the major theoretical approaches, pointing out the major criticisms of these ideas and how the theories correlate.This book will be of much interest to students of strategic studies, foreign policy, and International Relations.

This book provides a critical overview of the occurrence of war in the international system by examining the concept from multiple perspectives and theoretical backgrounds.War is an essential concept in international affairs, if for no other reason than because prevention of war requires an in-depth understanding of it as a concept. This book seeks to examine the continued occurrence of war in international relations, despite the emergence of arguments concerning its obsolescence. It provides a new cognitive framework through which to understand war as a phenomenon, which can be applied to real-world scenarios and policy issues, making use of case studies predominantly from China and Japan. Theoretically, the book is primarily based on a structural realist framework but adopts a significant constructivist component through the emphasis on identity and reputation in the international system. The volume offers a nuanced yet holistic approach to the theory of war and seeks to engage critically with the major theoretical approaches, pointing out the major criticisms of these ideas and how the theories correlate.This book will be of much interest to students of strategic studies, foreign policy, and International Relations.

This book examines the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands dispute from a foreign policy perspective, focusing on three key stakeholders: China, Japan and the United States.The Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands dispute is a prominent territorial dispute between China and Japan. This book critically assesses that dispute in a pragmatic, policy-oriented manner. The central question of the work focuses on the various military (direct invasion, coercion) and non-military (bilateral negotiations, binding and non-binding third-party options and delaying) foreign policy avenues available to China to pursue its key interests over the disputed islands. To compare and contrast these different options, the book employs a qualitative rational-choice framework. This allows for a critical analysis on the merits and demerits of various options and to anticipate China’s potential course of action based on the principle that China is expected to act in a rational manner. This research offers two main contributions. First, it adopts a security-focused approach to complement the economic-focused works on the subject. Second, it critically examines the various foreign policy options as opposed to offering an avenue based on purely theoretical assumptions. While the work concludes that a delaying/status quo approach is rational for all parties involved, it highlights alternative policy avenues that can build on the conclusion of the rational-choice analysis. Through this it seeks to address the possibility of escalation and de-escalation on the East China Sea and highlights the critical role pro-active foreign policy making plays in averting a negative outcome of the dispute.This book will be of much interest to students of Chinese Foreign Policy, Asian Politics, Security Studies and International Relations.

This student friendly book demonstrates how to take a critical approach to the research design process, to create feasible, original, and critical research works.The author uses a unique model that incorporates three critical review cycles: methodological design, epistemology, and completed research plan, in order to ensure that readers have critically engaged with various components of the research proposal. Approaching research design as a coherent whole, this book focuses on critically understanding how the various components come together as a cohesive and interconnected design, as well as to explore how the same basic research idea can lead to a number of different research designs. Including sections on both conceptual and methodological designs, readers are equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to take a basic research idea and conceptualize a complete and organic design for a research based on it that can make an original contribution to the existing body of knowledge.Covering quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods approaches, and addressing the ethical implications of research, this is an essential resource for researchers, instructors, and students across a broad range of disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences and humanities.

This student friendly book demonstrates how to take a critical approach to the research design process, to create feasible, original, and critical research works.The author uses a unique model that incorporates three critical review cycles: methodological design, epistemology, and completed research plan, in order to ensure that readers have critically engaged with various components of the research proposal. Approaching research design as a coherent whole, this book focuses on critically understanding how the various components come together as a cohesive and interconnected design, as well as to explore how the same basic research idea can lead to a number of different research designs. Including sections on both conceptual and methodological designs, readers are equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to take a basic research idea and conceptualize a complete and organic design for a research based on it that can make an original contribution to the existing body of knowledge.Covering quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods approaches, and addressing the ethical implications of research, this is an essential resource for researchers, instructors, and students across a broad range of disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences and humanities.