Coping With Conflict After The Cold War

This volume provides answers to the question of how the international community might cope with armed conflict after the Cold War. It identifies key actors--states and international organizations--that have the resources and (potentially) the will to address the problems of continuing violence and enduring conflicts. The book also evaluates the roles and strategies that might be adopted by these actors, unilaterally or cooperatively, to ease or end such armed struggles. The authors review the role of the United States, Russia, Japan, and China, all of which have the potential to play constructive roles in resolving conflicts. They also explore the contributions that the United Nations, the European Community, and other transnational organizations can make to building a more peaceful and secure world. Instead of appealing to grand theory as a guide for coping, the authors conclude, different mixes of actors, resources, roles, and strategies will have to be fashioned to meet the special needs of each conflict. Coping is viewed as an international imperative and not as the responsibility or prerogative of any one actor. The volume will be of interest to anyone concerned with international relations, international organizations, and security issues. Contributors are Arthur J. Alexander, Mohammed Ayoob, Nicole Ball, Paul F. Diehl, Roger E. Kanet, Samuel S. Kim, Edward A. Kolodziej, Edward J. Laurence, David F. Linowes, Patrick M. Morgan, Jack Snyder, Janice Gross Stein, and I. William Zartman.

The study reported in this volume is an attempt to develop a multilevel theory of violent conflict and war. As such, the study involves: a pretheory for identifying concepts operative at each level, and for explaining how the concepts relate to violent conflict and war.

The end of the Cold War has changed the shape of organized violence in the world and the ways in which governments and others try to set its limits. Even the concept of international conflict is broadening to include ethnic conflicts and other kinds of violence within national borders that may affect international peace and security. What is not yet clear is whether or how these changes alter the way actors on the world scene should deal with conflict: Do the old methods still work? Are there new tools that could work better? How do old and new methods relate to each other? International Conflict Resolution After the Cold War critically examines evidence on the effectiveness of a dozen approaches to managing or resolving conflict in the world to develop insights for conflict resolution practitioners. It considers recent applications of familiar conflict management strategies, such as the use of threats of force, economic sanctions, and negotiation. It presents the first systematic assessments of the usefulness of some less familiar approaches to conflict resolution, including truth commissions, "engineered" electoral systems, autonomy arrangements, and regional organizations. It also opens up analysis of emerging issues, such as the dilemmas facing humanitarian organizations in complex emergencies. This book offers numerous practical insights and raises key questions for research on conflict resolution in a transforming world system.

First Published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Instead of resurrecting old images and nourishing new narratives about a 'New Cold War', Post-Soviet Conflict Potentials features politically and legally oriented critical investigations into conflict potentials and dynamics in the post-Soviet region and beyond. Contributions coming from the disciplinary perspectives of international relations, international law, and comparative political science are linked to investigations dealing with international, transnational, regional and local levels of the dynamics between conflict and cooperation in the region. Despite the diversity of perspectives, the authors of this volume take a shared critical view on an alleged 'New Cold War' as their point of departure, observing that contemporary post-Soviet conflict potentials are produced through various discursive practices ranging from intentional choices of belligerent language to unintentional misinterpretations. The chapters in this volume seek to shed light on conflict potentials from different angles as well as on processes that increase or decrease the probability of political and violent conflicts in the post-Soviet region. Together, the authors offer individual and shared outside-the-box approaches to the study of conflict dynamics and potentials in the post-Soviet space. The book draws connections to conflict potentials on the cross-regional and global levels, providing varied perspectives on what can be learned in and from the post-Soviet region. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Europe-Asia Studies.