Conflict After the Cold War: Arguments on Causes of War and Peace

by Richard K. Betts

Betts, Richard, Conflict After the Cold War, 2nd Edition*\ Assembled by one of the most renowned scholars in the field, this collection aims to help readers sort out the main debates concerning the possibility and place of war in the post-Cold War world. The essay in this collection outline contrasting arguments about the future of the post-Cold War world and puts them in philosophical and historical context. Professor Betts has framed the readings in a topically organized and ideologically balanced survey of the most relevant schools of thought, examining the arguments about what political, economic, social and military factors tend to cause war and whether such causes can be made obsolete. For those interested in the Cold War.

Genres: Politics, History, Nonfiction, Political Science, College

576 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1993

Reviews

[Charlotte]

I read this for class and I don't think I read them all but I don't care and i'm saying I have finished

[Max]

Only read a little over a third- of the essays, but a valuable resource. Listing here for remembrence. I had the 2nd Edition from 2005, noting that the list of included works changes with each edition.

[J.R.]

Very informative. I appreciated that each chapter starts with Betts analysis of the various IR schools of thought, but then he provides excerpts of source documents within each school. I always enjoy reading the actual source works and not just some guys interpretation of those works.

[Nikki]

I read every single page of this 666 page book (fifth edition) so therefore it COUNTS FOR THE GOODREADS

[Aline Kho]

3.5 𖤐

[Jens]

Read the 3rd edition of this for a "Global Conflict, Global Health" class. Post Cold War international relations theory is intense. Betts puts together a collection of works by all the essential theorists like Fukuyama, Mearsheimer, Huntington, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Wilson, and some other big names. It's really helping me round out my views on power, realism, idealism, sovereignty, and the role of liberal democratic society in the world. Fortunately for the reader, the reader can make some basic judgments on how accurate the claims many of these theorists make actually are as a good portion of the articles come from Cold-War era publications, or even from works published at the dawn of liberal democracy. Very, very dense text though.

[Mick]

An excellent reader on the nature and causes of modern conflict, compiling essays reflecting all the major schools of thought on the subject. I have found this indispensable as a textbook in international relations.

[Harrison]

An excellent book for those interested in conflict theory and IR