Table of Contents

Preface; 1. Thinking about war in international politics; 2. Wars of the third kind; 3. The formation of states before 1945; 4. The creation of states since 1945; 5. The strength of states; 6. The perils of the weak: the state-strength dilemma; 7. Wars of the third kind and international politics; 8. Analyzing an anomaly: war, peace, and the state in South America; 9. International responses to the weak state: managing and resolving wars of the third kind; Appendix: major armed conflicts by region and type, 1945–1995; References; Index.

Promotional Information

The author surveys some of the foundations of state legitimacy and demonstrates why many weak states will be the locales of war in the future.

Reviews

"The State, War, and the State of War is an is an intelligent and provocative discussion of the most serious international problem of our time. The book is also a pleasure to read. It is written in a clear and graceful style; the arguments are supplemented by relevant real-world examples. It would be an excellent choice as a supplemenatry text for upper level undergraduate or graduate courses. There is also a useful appendix, which lists and categorizes those disputes from 1945 to 1995 that qualify as wars under Holsti's criteria." Russell J. Leng, American Political Review "...the book provides a nice bridge between old realism and new currents of thinking about war and peace. One must also admire the willingness of senior scholars such as Holsti, who have set the tone for generations of IR teaching and have persistently argued for the durability of realist accounts, to jettison their verities. One hopes that the doors he opens, but does not walk through, will be traversed by others." Keith Krause, Canadian Journal of Political Science "...well-written exposition of a major current problem in world affairs, with a useful appendix on armed conflicts since 1945 and an exhaustive bibliography. The book will be useful...for some time to come." Paul Rich, Journal of World History "...This is an unusually coherent and well written expostion of a major current problem in world affairs, with a useful appendix on armed conflicts since 1945 and an exhaustive bibliography." Paul Rich, Journal of World History