Richard N. Rosecrance

John M. Owen, IV

Presenting the development of international relations and its theories in a historical narrative spanning 500 years, International Politics: How History Modifies Theory offers a fresh perspective on twenty-first-century world politics. Rather than simply listing IR theories, this text demonstrates that certain theories explain the behavior of world politics better than others based on historical context. Offering a broader and deeper historical perspective than any other text on the market, it demonstrates how history can explain and impact theory development in the field of international relations.

How History Modifies Theory

International Politics

Richard Rosecrance

The Great Power coalition of the early 19th century succeeded in keeping the peace among the major states of England, France, Prussia, Russia, and Austria. For the last century and a half, however, no truly encompassing coalition has emerged, and in its absence the 20th century was plagued by world wars and peripheral conflicts. Only now, at the outset of the 21st century, is a new Great Power coalition possible. This book examines the prospect of a Great Power coalition that would be sustained by the development of 'overlapping international clubs.' The new set of Great Powers--the United States, Japan, the European Union, China, and Russia--can be increasingly bound together through a combination of status and economic incentives, international norms and regimes, and the emulation of national and regional 'best practices.' The construction of such a coalition presents special problems and opportunities for the United States. In the years ahead, America will need to adjust its policies to bring China and Russia into membership of such a group or see them progressively adopt recalcitrant and antagonistic attitudes toward world affairs.

Toward a World Concert of Nations

The New Great Power Coalition

Michael E. Brown

When it comes to conflict resolution, is an ounce of prevention worth a pound of cure? Scholars present an analytical and methodological framework for evaluating this question with case studies from various countries to test this assertion.

Prevention and Cure in the Global Arena

The Costs of Conflict

Steven E. Miller

A century ago, Europe's diplomats mismanaged the crisis triggered by the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and the continent plunged into World War I, which killed millions, toppled dynasties, and destroyed empires. Today, as the hundredth anniversary of the Great War prompts renewed debate about the war's causes, scholars and policy experts are also considering the parallels between the present international system and the world of 1914. Are China and the United States fated to follow in the footsteps of previous great power rivals? Will today's alliances drag countries into tomorrow's wars? Can leaders manage power relationships peacefully? Or will East Asia's territorial and maritime disputes trigger a larger conflict, just as rivalries in the Balkans did in 1914?In The Next Great War?, experts reconsider the causes of World War I and explore whether the great powers of the twenty-first century can avoid the mistakes of Europe's statesmen in 1914 and prevent another catastrophic conflict. They find differences as well as similarities between today's world and the world of 1914 -- but conclude that only a deep understanding of those differences and early action to bring great powers together will likely enable the United States and China to avoid a great war.ContributorsAlan Alexandroff, Graham Allison, Richard N. Cooper, Charles S. Maier, Steven E. Miller, Joseph S. Nye Jr., T. G. Otte, David K. Richards, Richard N. Rosecrance, Kevin Rudd, Jack Snyder, Etel Solingen, Arthur A. Stein, Stephen Van Evera

Richard N. Rosecrance

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