Strategic Rivalries in World Politics: Position, Space and Conflict Escalation - Softcover

Colaresi, Michael P.; Rasler, Karen; Thompson, William R.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521707617 ISBN 13: 9780521707619

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2008

Synopsis

International conflict is neither random nor inexplicable. It is highly structured by antagonisms between a relatively small set of states that regard each other as rivals. Examining the 173 strategic rivalries in operation throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, this book identifies the differences rivalries make in the probability of conflict escalation and analyzes how they interact with serial crises, arms races, alliances and capability advantages. The authors distinguish between rivalries concerning territorial disagreement (space) and rivalries concerning status and influence (position) and show how each leads to markedly different patterns of conflict escalation. They argue that rivals are more likely to engage in international conflict with their antagonists than non-rival pairs of states and conclude with an assessment of whether we can expect democratic peace, economic development and economic interdependence to constrain rivalry-induced conflict.

About this title

About the Authors

Michael P. Colaresi is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Michigan State University.

Karen Rasler is Professor in the Department of Political Science at Indiana University.

William R. Thompson is Rogers Professor of Political Science in the Department of Political Science at Indiana University.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521707617
• ISBN 13: 9780521707619
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 330