Opportunities Missed, Opportunities Seized - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0847685594 ISBN 13: 9780847685592

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 1999

Synopsis

The basic logic of preventive diplomacy is unassailable. Act early to prevent disputes from escalating; reduce tensions that could lead to war; deal with today's conflicts before they become tomorrow's crises. Yet as we look at the record of these first years of the post-Cold War era, it is quite mixed. There have been some preventive diplomacy successes and opportunities that have been seized by major powers and international organizations to help preserve and protect the peace. But there also have been other opportunities that have been missed, with some of the century's most deadly conflicts the result. This study examines ten major post-Cold War cases including Croatia-Bosnia, Rwanda, the Baltics, Russia-Ukraine, Macedonia, and North Korea_to assess the key factors contributing to both the success and failure of preventive diplomacy. The method of case study analysis employed is based on the work of Alexander L. George. Authors include both leading academics and prominent policy officials with first-hand knowledge.

About this title

About the Author:

Bruce W. Jentleson is professor of public policy and political science at Duke University.

Review:

Although much has been written about the opportunities for and limits to preventive diplomacy in recent years, there are no in-depth case studies that test the utility of the concept in diplomatic practice. This volume fills a gap in the burgeoning literature and rescues the concept from the jaws of some of its sterner critics. (Hampson, Fen Osler)

A major achievement that will go far in getting the concept and practice of preventive diplomacy into the conventional wisdom of the foreign policy community. (Montville, Joseph V.)

This volume is a must for anyone interested in preventive diplomacy. This volume makes a valuable contribution to the field, and that is likely to set the standard against which future studies of preventive diplomacy will be judged. (International Affairs)

It is a useful giude to understanding contemporary conflict. (Journal Of Strategic Studies)

No issue facing the world today deserves our attention more than conflict prevention. We need to foster a sense of urgency, a new way of thinking that gives precedence to the prevention and not simply the management of conflict, to avoid disaster rather than merely dealing with its consequences. The contributors to this volume provide illuminating descriptions of the actions that prevented some crises from becoming violent. They also provide agonizing details of violence that could have been prevented and carefully demonstrate what could have been done to prevent it. (Hamilton, Lee H.)

About this edition

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0847685594
• ISBN 13: 9780847685592
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 456
• Editor: Jentleson Bruce W.