Contemporary Conflict Resolution : The Prevention, Management and Transformation of Deadly Conflicts

Since the end of the Cold War, conflict prevention and resolution, peacekeeping and peacebuilding have risen to the top of the international agenda. The second edition of this hugely popular text charts the development of the field from its pioneers to its contemporary exponents and offers an assessment of its achievements and the challenges it faces in today's changed security environment. Existing material has been thoroughly updated and new chapters added on peacebuilding from below, reconciliation, responses to terror, gender issues, the ethics of intervention, dialogue, discourse and disagreement, culture and conflict resolution, and future directions for the field. the authors argue that a new form of cosmopolitan conflict resolution is emerging, which offers a hopeful means for human societies to transcend and celebrate their differences.


Part I offers a comprehensive survey of the theory and practice of conflict resolution. Part II enters into the controversies that have surrounded conflict resolution as it has become part of the mainstream. Contemporary Conflict Resolution is essential reading for students of peace and security studies, conflict management and international politics, as well as those working in non-government organizations or think-tanks.

Oliver Ramsbotham is Professor of Conflict Resolution at the Centre for Conflict Resolution, Department of Peace Studies, University of Bradford.

Tom Woodhouse is Professor of Conflict Resolution (Adam Curle Chair), Centre for Conflict Resolution, Department of Peace Studies, University of Bradford.

Hugh Miall is Professor of International Relations at the University of Kent at Canterbury.