Strategic Rivalries in World Politics
Subtitle: Position, Space and Conflict Escalation
Edition: 1 edition
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: February 29, 2008
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 328
ISBN-13: 9780521707619
Subjects: Political Science / International Relations; International Relations - General; Political Science; International relations; War; Politics/International Relations
Description: "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 lead to markedly different patterns of conflict escalation. They argue that rivals are more likely to engage in international conflict with their antagonists than nonrival 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."--Jacket.