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Peace and Conflict Studies
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Peace and Conflict Studies

Fifth Edition


September 2021 | 784 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
Peace and Conflict Studies sets the standard for an accessible introduction, a comprehensive exploration, and analysis of 21st-century world events – including updated coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Middle East, the Social Justice movements within the US, and Global Climate Change. The text examines current conflicts, explores the important aspects of positive peace, individual violence, nationalism, and terrorism, provides numerous visual aids, questions for further study, and suggested readings, and furnishes a comprehensive range of material to enlighten and enrich future discussion and encourage further academic pursuit. With a broad and authoritative scope, this introductory text chronicles a plethora of important global topics from pre-history to the present.

 
Part I • The Promise of Peace, the Problems of War
 
Chapter 1 • The Meanings of Peace
The Meanings of Peace

 
Positive and Negative Peace

 
Measuring Peace

 
The Global Peace Index

 
Culture of Peace

 
A Final Note on the Meanings of Peace

 
Questions for Further Reflection

 
Suggestions for Further Reading

 
Notes

 
 
Chapter 2 • Peace Studies, Peace Education, and Peace Research
Peace Studies, War Studies, and Peace and Conflict Studies

 
Peace Education

 
The Dimensions of Peace and Conflict Studies

 
PCS Today

 
Some Contributions of PCS

 
The Future of PCS

 
A Final Note on Peace and Conflict Studies, Education, and Research

 
Questions for Further Reflection

 
Suggestions for Further Reading

 
Scholarly Journals

 
Notes

 
 
Chapter 3 • The Meaning of War
Defining War

 
The Frequency and Intensity of Wars

 
Historical Trends in War

 
Modern Weaponry

 
Cutting-Edge Military Technologies

 
Has Technology Made War Obsolete?

 
Wars, Empires, Colonialism, and National Liberation

 
The Desirability of Peace Versus Justifications for Wars

 
Social Justice and War

 
Political Ideologies and Militarism

 
Is War Inevitable?

 
Can Nations Change?

 
The Nature and Functions of Conflict

 
A Final Note on War

 
Questions for Further Reflection

 
Suggestions for Further Reading

 
Notes

 
 
Chapter 4 • Terrorism and Counterterrorism: A War Without End?
What Is Terrorism? Who Are Terrorists?

 
A Brief History of Terrorism: From Above and From Below

 
Terrorism and the Middle East

 
Divisions Within Islam

 
The Official Terrorism Industry

 
The Global War on Terrorism

 
The Victims and Perpetrators of Global Terrorism and Counterterrorism

 
A Final Note on Terrorism

 
Questions for Further Reflection

 
Suggestions for Further Reading

 
Notes

 
 
Chapter 5 • Nuclear Weapons
The Nature of Nuclear Weapons

 
Delivery Systems

 
Strategic Doctrine: Deterrence

 
How a Nuclear War Could Start

 
Nuclear Proliferation

 
Some New Worries

 
Some Good News

 
What Might Be Done

 
A Final Note on Nuclear Weapons

 
Questions for Further Reflection

 
Suggestions for Further Reading

 
Notes

 
 
Part II • The Causes of Wars
 
Chapter 6 • The Individual Level
Aggression, Drives, and Instincts

 
Sociobiology and Evolutionary Psychology

 
Freudian and Post-Freudian Psychoanalytic Perspectives

 
Innate Depravity?

 
Social Learning Theories

 
Gender, War, and Peace

 
Prejudice, Images of the Enemy, and Human Needs

 
Attributions and Projection

 
Dehumanization, Altruism, and Reconciliation

 
The Attractions of War

 
Inhibitions Against War

 
Some Issues in Nuclear Psychology

 
A Final Note on Individual-Level Explanations of Wars

 
Questions for Further Reflection

 
Suggestions for Further Reading

 
Notes

 
 
Chapter 7 • The Group Level
War: Its Early History

 
Functions of Nontechnological Wars

 
Characteristics of Premodern Wars

 
Alternatives to Traditional, Premodern Warfare

 
Underlying Group Processes

 
Brief Conclusion on Premodern and Nontechnological Warfare

 
Nations, States, Ethnic Groups, and Nationalism

 
A Brief History of Nationalist Wars

 
Types of Nationalist Wars

 
Nationalist Threats to States

 
Racial and Cultural Intolerance

 
Nationalism and the Public Mood

 
Nationalism and Political Ideology 186 World War I: Ideology Loses to Nationalism

 
The Question of “National Character”

 
A Final Note on Nationalism and Ethnocentrism

 
Questions for Further Reflection

 
Suggestions for Further Reading

 
Notes

 
 
Chapter 8 • The State Level
Defining the State

 
State Sovereignty

 
The State System

 
Alliances Between States

 
Realpolitik and Raisons d’État

 
Internal Cohesion

 
Arms Races

 
A Final Note on War and States

 
Questions for Further Reflection

 
Suggestions for Further Reading

 
Notes

 
 
Chapter 9 • The Decision-Making Level
The Role of Leaders

 
Crisis Decision Making

 
Some Issues Regarding Perception and Cognition

 
A Final Note on Decision Making

 
Questions for Further Reflection

 
Suggestions for Further Reading

 
Notes

 
 
Chapter 10 • The Ideological, Social, and Economic Levels
Conflicting Ideologies

 
Population Pressure and Other Social Stresses

 
Poverty as a Cause of War

 
Imperialism

 
The Military-Industrial Complex

 
The Economic Effects of Wars

 
The Effects of Military Spending

 
Cultural Conflicts and the “Clash of Civilizations”

 
A Final Note on the Complex Causes of War

 
Questions for Further Reflection

 
Suggestions for Further Reading

 
Notes

 
 
Part III • Building “Negative Peace”
 
Chapter 11 • Peace Movements
Popular Attitudes Toward Peace

 
Attention, Success, and Failure

 
Historical and Current Perceptions of War

 
History and Taxonomy of Peace Movements

 
Interconnections Between Peace and Other Social Movements

 
Some Internal Debates Within Peace Movements

 
Some Criticisms of Peace Movements

 
Maintaining the Momentum of Peace Movements

 
A Final Note on Peace Movements

 
Questions for Further Reflection

 
Suggestions for Further Reading

 
Notes

 
 
Chapter 12 • Diplomacy, Negotiations, and Conflict Resolution
Conflict: A Brief Overview

 
Summitry

 
A Brief History of Diplomacy

 
Diplomacy and Military Force

 
Diplomacy and Realpolitik

 
Track II Diplomacy

 
Third-Party Involvement

 
Negotiating Techniques for Resolving Conflict

 
Methods of Integrative Bargaining

 
Additional Negotiating Techniques

 
A Final Note on Conflict Resolution

 
Questions for Further Reflection

 
Suggestions for Further Reading

 
Notes

 
 
Chapter 13 • Disarmament and Arms Control
Different Visions of Disarmament

 
A Brief History of Disarmament

 
Some Current Agreements

 
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

 
Future Prospects

 
Some Conventional Arms-Control Efforts

 
Pitfalls of Arms Control Agreements

 
Benefits and Methods of Achieving Arms Control Agreements

 
Economic Conversion

 
A Final Note on Disarmament and Arms Control

 
Questions for Further Reflection

 
Suggestions for Further Reading

 
Notes

 
 
Chapter 14 • International Cooperation
The United Nations

 
Limitations on the UN’s Use of Force

 
Other Functions of the United Nations

 
Functionalism

 
Regional Organizations

 
Intergovernmental Organizations

 
World Government?

 
A Brief History of Plans for World Government

 
Pros and Cons of World Government

 
The Dream of World Government: A Waste of Time?

 
The Prospects for World Government

 
The Uniting of the United States of America: A Rehearsal for a Global Federal System?

 
Trans-Governmental Movements

 
A Final Note on International Cooperation

 
Questions for Further Reflection

 
Suggestions for Further Reading

 
Notes

 
 
Chapter 15 • Peace Through Strength?
Balance of Power

 
Problems With Balance of Power

 
Hegemonic US?

 
Collective Security

 
National Security via Military Force

 
Appeasement, Provocation, and Deterrence

 
The Prisoner’s Dilemma

 
Sanctions

 
Nonprovocative Defense

 
A Final Note on Peace Through Strength

 
Questions for Further Reflection

 
Suggestions for Further Reading

 
Notes

 
 
Chapter 16 • International Law
The Sources of International Law

 
Enforcement of International Law

 
The Conflict Between International Law and State Sovereignty

 
Hidden Strengths of International Law

 
The Laws of War

 
A Final Note on International Law

 
Questions for Further Reflection

 
Suggestions for Further Reading

 
Notes

 
 
Chapter 17 • Ethical and Religious Perspectives
A Two-Sided View of Killing

 
Ethics

 
Religious Attitudes Toward War

 
Christian “Realism”

 
Religious Pacifism

 
Nuclear Ethics

 
A Final Note on Ethics and Religion

 
Questions for Further Reflection

 
Suggestions for Further Reading

 
Notes

 
 
Part IV • Building "Positive Peace"
 
Chapter 18 • Human Rights
A Brief History of Human Rights

 
Women’s Rights

 
Some Human Rights Controversies

 
Refugees

 
LGBT Rights

 
The Legal Status of Human Rights

 
Human Rights and the Nation-State

 
Human Rights and Peace

 
Competing Conceptions of Human Rights

 
The Responsibility to Protect

 
Human Rights Violations Under Authoritarian Regimes

 
Promoting Human Rights

 
A Final Note on Human Rights

 
Questions for Further Reflection

 
Suggestions for Further Reading

 
Notes

 
 
Chapter 19 • Environmental Well-Being
Enhanced Environmental Awareness

 
The Environment and National Security

 
The Tragedy of the Commons

 
Some Major Environmental Problems

 
Some Environmental Principles

 
Environmental Activism

 
Struggling for Sustainability

 
Resource Wars

 
Environmental Ethics

 
A Final Note on Ecological Well-Being

 
Questions for Further Reflection

 
Suggestions for Further Reading

 
Notes

 
 
Chapter 20 • The Climate Crisis
Causes of Global Climate Change

 
Some Skeptical Questions Regarding Climate Science and Some Replies to Them

 
Indirect Consequences of Global Heating

 
What Can We Expect in the Future?

 
Obstacles to Action

 
Prospects for Progress

 
Technology to the Rescue?

 
A Final Note on the Climate Crisis

 
Questions for Further Reflection

 
Suggestions for Further Reading

 
Climate Change Websites

 
 
Chapter 21 • Economic Well-Being
The Problem of Poverty

 
Socioeconomic Development

 
Ethics, Equity, and a Bit of History

 
Hunger

 
Measuring Wealth, Poverty, and Income Inequality

 
Population

 
The Demographic-Economic-Environmental Trap

 
Future Directions

 
The Case of Costa Rica

 
A Final Note on Economic Well-Being

 
Questions for Further Reflection

 
Suggestions for Further Reading

 
 
Chapter 22 • Democracy
What Is Democracy?

 
A Brief Modern History of Democratization

 
The Arab Spring: A “Fifth Wave” That Largely Failed

 
The Occupy Movement

 
The Democracy “Recession”

 
Democracies and Wars

 
Can Democracy Be Exported? Should It Be?

 
A Final Note on Movements Toward Democracy

 
Questions for Further Reflection

 
Suggestions for Further Reading

 
Notes

 
 
Chapter 23 • National Reconciliation
Altruism, Aggression, and Reconciliation in Nonhuman Primates

 
Truth and Reconciliation Commissions

 
The Opposite of Reconciliation

 
TRC Downsides and Caveats

 
A Final Note on National Reconciliation

 
Questions for Further Reflection

 
Suggestions for Further Reading

 
Notes

 
 
Chapter 24 • Nonviolence
What Is Nonviolence?

 
Violence

 
Nonviolent Peace Theorists and Theories

 
Mohandas K. Gandhi

 
Gandhian Nonviolence in Theory and Practice

 
Martin Luther King Jr. and the US Civil Rights Movement

 
Some Nonviolent Successes

 
Civilian-Based Defense

 
Does Nonviolence “Work”? If So, Why?

 
Prospects for Nonviolence

 
A Final Note on Nonviolence

 
Questions for Further Reflection

 
Suggestions for Further Reading

 
Notes

 
 
Chapter 25 • The Coronavirus Pandemic: Catastrophe, Wake-Up Call, or Both?
A Bit of History

 
Socioeconomic Inequality

 
Local and Domestic Consequences

 
Possible Origins of the Pandemic and Human/Animal Interdependency

 
More Cooperation or Less?

 
Altered Political Realities, for Better and Worse

 
Science and Public Health

 
A Final Note on the Coronavirus Pandemic

 
Questions for Further Reflection

 
Suggestions for Further Reading

 
Coronavirus Websites

 
 
Chapter 26 • The Personal and the Political
Transformations of Self and Society

 
Toward the Future

 
A Final Note on Transformation and the Future

 
Questions for Further Reflection

 
Suggestions for Further Reading

 
Notes

 
Key features

NEW TO THIS EDITION:

  • Significantly expanded content on global terrorism, a topic of high interest in today's current events, includes a new section on ISIS, as well as new scholarly references and data from the most recent Global Terrorism Index.
  • New material on key topics in world affairs today bring students up-to-date on income inequality, social justice, the current and ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and global peace and nonviolence.
  • Coverage of recent developments in environmental politics and nuclear proliferation includes efforts to combat global climate change and the Iran nuclear agreement.
  • Updated coverage of cutting-edge military technologies includes discussions of nanotechnological devices, drones, robots and "terminator"-like weapons, space technologies, biological and chemical weapons, and current developments in cyberwarfare.
  • Updated chapters on Peace and Conflict Studies, Global Climate Change and the New Democracy Movements broaden the scope of the book.

KEY FEATURES:

  • An insightful combination of theoretical and historical insights with attention to significant recent events provides students with a solid grounding in peace and conflict studies.
  • Authoritative coverage of the important aspects of positive peace, individual violence, nationalism, and terrorism introduces readers to the key issues in the field.
  • Built-in learning aids, including numerous photos and visual aids, questions for further study, and suggested readings, help readers master key concepts.
  • A comprehensive range of material enlightens and enriches future discussion and encourages further academic pursuit.

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