'Why do we go to war? A question soldiers, scholars and politicians have pondered throughout the ages. Understanding the reasons for conflict, we hope, may help us avoid its scourge. Dr Claire Breen takes an exciting new look at the imperative to maintain international peace and security. She lays bare the gap between aspiration and reality in that "other" field of rights – the economic and social ones. This dislocation, she demonstrates, has massive potential to generate conflict and instability. [As a former peacekeeper, a lawyer and as an academic I believe that] this is scholarship which will be of great interest and value to all people concerned with peace and security – both from a practical and theoretical perspective.' Kevin Riordan, ONZM, Judge Advocate General of the New Zealand Armed Forces