John A. Vasquez is Professor of Political Science at Vanderbilt University. He is the author of The War Puzzle and The Power of Power Politics, coauthor (with Richard Mansbach) of In Search of Theory, and editor of Classics of International Relations.Marie T. Henehan is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Vanderbilt University. She is the author of Foreign Policy and Congress: An International Relations Perspective.

• chapter 1 Facets in the Onset of War:Alliance Formation and War Behaviorchapter 2 Capability Distribution, Uncertainty, and Major Power War, 1820-1965chapter 3 Armaments and Escalationchapter 4 Arms Races and Escalationchapter 5 When Will They Ever Learn? Coercive Bargaining in Recurrent Criseschapter 6 Excerpts from The War Trapchapter 7 The Expansion of War:Alliances and the Expansion of Warchapter 8 Bipolarity and Warchapter 9 Preventing Systemic Warchapter 10 Peace and the Global Institutional Context:Universalism vs. Particularismchapter 11 The Termination and Impact of War:War Power and the Willingness to Sufferchapter 12 The Costs of Major Warschapter 13 War Making and State Makingchapter 14 Conclusion:The Steps to Warchapter 15 Appendix: Applying Scientific Method to the Study of War:The Scientific Study of Warchapter 16 Bibliographical Essaychapter 17 Referenceschapter 18 Index