International Conflict Resolution in the 21st Century

This volume analyses the causes and conditions of violent conflict, war and terrorism in the 21st century, and offers a new theory of peacebuilding. Embedded within an internally consistent, comprehensive framework, the work makes clear how these various themes are interconnected and interdependent in the contemporary world. As such, the framework facilitates management of the complexity inherent in the multidisciplinary field of conflict analysis and resolution, the subject matter of the field (violent conflict, terrorism, and war) and of any particular conflict or act of violence. The volume addresses not only the theory and research on causes and conditions of war but also delineates "best practices" for preventing or handling deadly quarrels. As such, the discussions in the book emphasize the need for conflict analysts to identify, and for conflict resolution practitioners to address, the deep-rooted causes and conditions as well as relationship issues and headline-grabbing symptoms of violent conflicts. What is really new about the volume is the recommendation that traditional "bisectoral" peacebuilding -- comprising third-party interveners from public and civil society sectors -- must be replaced by "trisectoral" peacebuilding, comprising private as well as public and civil society sectors. If poverty and unemployment are among the major drivers of violent conflicts, especially of the "new wars", state failure, and terrorism occurring within states, then, it is argued, the private sector is well positioned to make positive contributions to constructive peacemaking and "maximalist peacebuilding", where the emphasis is on positive peace and human security. This book will be of much interest to students of peace studies, conflict resolution, war studies, security studies and IR.