Leaders and International Conflict

Giacomo Chiozza author H E Goemans author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Cambridge University Press

Published:18th Aug '11

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

This paperback is available in another edition too:

Leaders and International Conflict cover

Highlights the role political leadership plays in the choice between war and peace.

The role of leadership in international conflict has recently become one of the most dynamic research agendas in international relations. This book seeks to explain why and when political leaders decide to initiate international wars and argues that the fate of leaders shapes their decisions to initiate international conflict.Chiozza and Goemans seek to explain why and when political leaders decide to initiate international crises and wars. They argue that the fate of leaders and the way leadership changes, shapes leaders' decisions to initiate international conflict. Leaders who anticipate regular removal from office, through elections for example, have little to gain and much to lose from international conflict, whereas leaders who anticipate a forcible removal from office, such as through coup or revolution, have little to lose and much to gain from conflict. This theory is tested against an extensive analysis of more than 80 years of international conflict and with an intensive historical examination of Central American leaders from 1848 to 1918. Leaders and International Conflict highlights the political nature of the choice between war and peace and will appeal to all scholars of international relations and comparative politics.

“Chiozza and Goemans make an important contribution to the literature on war and politics. The book’s great strength is its return to an analytic focus on the role of leaders and the incentives they face as individuals.” – Allan C. Stam, Professor of Political Science, University of Michigan
“In tracing decisions for war to the fate of political leaders, including both the probability and consequences of being removed from office, and in testing their theory through sophisticated statistical analyses and detailed case studies, Chiozza and Goermans provide a new answer to the old question of what causes war.” – Jack S. Levy, Board of Governors Professor, Rutgers University

  • Winner of Lepgold Prize 2011

ISBN: 9781107660731

Dimensions: 227mm x 150mm x 10mm

Weight: 400g

252 pages