Leashing the Dogs of War: Conflict Management in a Divided World

Leashing the Dogs of War assesses the nature and extent of the changes wrought by 9/11 and its aftermath, and explores their wide-ranging implications. For the United States, of course, the changes have been dramatic. It has engaged in a war on terrorism and has become both a third party in certain conflict arenas and a direct party to the conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan. But these events have also affected other actors, from the United Nations to humanitarian NGOs to collective defense and security organizations such as NATO and the OSCE.

At the same time, some things have not changed. Failed states, economic stagnation, weapons proliferation, nuclear missiles, and identity-based conflicts continue to threaten global security. Looking at the combination of old and new threats, are traditional instruments of negotiation, mediation, peacekeeping and peace enforcement still effective in managing and resolving conflict? How do conflict management efforts and the campaign against terrorism interact in various security environments? Are our institutions--be they states, coalitions of the willing, international organizations, or NGOs--capable of creating and implementing a peacemaking strategy? All these questions are addressed in this new volume.

Chester A. Crocker is the James R. Schlesinger Professor of Strategic Studies at Georgetown University where his teaching and research focus on conflict management and regional security issues. He served as chairman of the board of the United States Institute of Peace (1992-2004), and continues as a member of its board. From 1981-1989, he was U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs. As such, he was the principal diplomatic architect and mediator in the prolonged negotiations among Angola, Cuba, and South Africa that led to Namibia's transition to independence, and to the withdrawal of Cuban forces from Angola. He serves on the boards of ASA Ltd., a NYSE-listed, closed-end fund focused on gold mining; Universal Corporation, Inc., a leading independent trading company in tobacco, agricultural and lumber products; Good Governance Group Ltd; and First Africa Holdings Ltd. He serves on the advisory board of the National Defense University in Washington. Dr. Crocker is the author of High Noon in Southern Africa: Making Peace in a Rough Neighborhood, co-author (with Fen Osler Hampson and Pamela Aall) of Taming Intractable Conflicts: Mediation in the Hardest Cases, and coeditor of Grasping the Nettle: Analyzing Cases of Intractable Conflict; Turbulent Peace: The Challenges of Managing International Conflict; and Herding Cats: Multiparty Mediation in a Complex World.

Fen Osler Hampson is professor of international affairs and director of the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs.