The Causes and Prevention of War

By Seyom Brown

Book Overview

In this unique book, Seyom Brown applies the analytical tools of the social and behavioral sciences to the study of international violence. Within this theoretical framework, he considers the phenomenon of war itself; its behavioral, political, institutional, and structural determinants; and the issues involved in the reduction of international conflict. This second edition, which focuses especially on the challenges and opportunities for maintaining peace in the post-Cold War world, incorporates three new chapters. New topics include the forms of collective violence, the culture of war, and the role of diplomacy. The concluding section has also been extensively revised to accommodate an integrated strategy for the prevention and control of war.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312004737
• ISBN13: 9780312004736
• Release Date: January 1987
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 274 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Age Range: 9 to 13 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 8

Customer Reviews

Why there is no peace?

I was amazed at the lucidity and incisiveness with which this book addresses with the complex issue of violence, as well as presents an eclectic spectrum of means to deal with it. The surprising brevity of the work, for once, has helped me grasp coherently the exhaustive range of stimulants to the incitement of violence. That includes everything from individual human psychology as an engendering cause of international conflict and war, to structural and cultural incitements to violent socio-political behavior, both within and without countries. It is a pleasant reading experience that will not make one forgetful of the beginning by the time one will have reached the end. I could easily fathom the complex intermingling of biology, psychology, anthropology, sociology, political science, and other branches of study that all contribute to the causes of violence and its prevention. The book goes on to explain the various roles of governments and the public in inciting and justifying war. Rectification of perceived injustice by communities, need to preserve national honor, windows of threat or opportunity in geopolitical calculations - all are attended plainly yet compellingly. Brown explores concepts like balance of power, international collective security, arms control, and their historical, philosophical bases, in proceeding towards the conclusion envisioning a unique mix of morality and changes in political-economic structure as the final hope of a new world order.