Crises, War, and Diplomacy

John A. Vasquez is Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is the author of The War Puzzle (Cambridge, 1993), The War Puzzle Revisited (Cambridge, 2009), The Power of Power Politics (Cambridge, 1999), The Steps to War (with Paul Senese), Territory, War, and Peace (with Marie Henehan), and Contagion and War: Lessons from the First World War (Cambridge, 2018). He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the APSA Conflict Processes Section and has served as the president of the Peace Science Society (International) and the International Studies Association. Andrew P. Owsiak is Professor of International Affairs and Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Georgia. His research concerns interstate conflict and its management. His recent published works include On Dangerous Ground (with Toby J. Rider, 2021), International Conflict Management (with J. Michael Greig and Paul F. Diehl, 2023), and various journal articles.

• Part I. Foundations: Introduction; 1. Theoretical framework and research design; Part II. The post-Napoleonic nineteenth century: 2. The eastern crisis, 1839–1841; 3. The Crimean war; 4. The Italian war of Independence 1859–1860; 5. The Franco-Prussian war; Part III. The twentieth century through World War II: 6. The Russo-Japanese war; 7. The first and second Moroccan crisis; 8. The 1908–1909 Bosnian crisis; 9. July 1914; 10. Munich 1938; 11. Pearl harbor; Part IV. The Nuclear Era: 12. The Berlin crises: 13. The Cuban missile crisis; 14. The 1917–1973 'Cod War'; 15. The 2014 annexation of crimea/2022 Russia-Ukraine war; Part V. Conclusion: Lessons for World Politics; 16. Patterns; 17. General lessons.

'Why some crises escalate to war while others do not is a critical question for both theorists and policymakers. Vasquez and Owsiak answer with a masterful integration of theory, data, and history in a penetrating analysis of decision-making in fifteen of the most important international crises of the last hundred years.' Jack S. Levy, Rutgers University