The State, War, and the State of War (Cambridge Studies in International Relations) [Paperback]

Kalevi J. Holsti (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 052157790X | ISBN-13: 978-0521577908 | Publication Date: August 28, 1996

Why do we have Rwandas, Bosnias, and Somalias? This book explores the sources of such bitter, prolonged conflicts that result in immense human tragedies of civilian deaths and mass refugee flows. The author argues that such conflicts, and not wars between states, are the wars of the future. What can the United Nations and other international institutions do about them? Can organizations designed to manage conflicts between states successfully manage wars whose origins are domestic? The author develops some ideas about conflict resolution and peace derived from such recent experiences of war.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The State, War, and the State of War is an is an intelligent and provocative discussion of the most serious international problem of our time. The book is also a pleasure to read. It is written in a clear and graceful style; the arguments are supplemented by relevant real-world examples. It would be an excellent choice as a supplemenatry text for upper level undergraduate or graduate courses. There is also a useful appendix, which lists and categorizes those disputes from 1945 to 1995 that qualify as wars under Holsti's criteria." Russell J. Leng, American Political Review

"...the book provides a nice bridge between old realism and new currents of thinking about war and peace. One must also admire the willingness of senior scholars such as Holsti, who have set the tone for generations of IR teaching and have persistently argued for the durability of realist accounts, to jettison their verities. One hopes that the doors he opens, but does not walk through, will be traversed by others." Keith Krause, Canadian Journal of Political Science

"...well-written exposition of a major current problem in world affairs, with a useful appendix on armed conflicts since 1945 and an exhaustive bibliography. The book will be useful...for some time to come." Paul Rich, Journal of World History

"...This is an unusually coherent and well written expostion of a major current problem in world affairs, with a useful appendix on armed conflicts since 1945 and an exhaustive bibliography." Paul Rich, Journal of World History

Book Description

This study explores the sources of bitter, prolonged conflicts that result in immense human tragedies of civilian deaths and mass refugee flows. Arguing that such conflicts are destined to be the wars of the future, it develops ideas about conflict resolution and peace derived from them.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (August 28, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 052157790X
• ISBN-13: 978-0521577908
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #772,333 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but a bit bland..., August 26, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The State, War, and the State of War (Cambridge Studies in International Relations) (Paperback)

I have heard a lot of good things about Kal HOlsti, and I've seen his works cited in a lot of IR books. But I've got to say, I was a little disappointed with this book. There seems to be a lot of hype and not that much substance. Anyway, my thoughts on this book...

This book argues that the traditional ways of analyzing the international system and war are inappropriate in the context of intrastate conflict and wars. However, if this is the argument, then why isn't there more of an emphasis on new analytical tools? The first half of the book spends an inordinate amount of time going over basic IR notions and theories like Thomas Hobbes, the Westphalian system, Rousseau, Morgenthau and so on. Some of this book's observations seem a bit redundant. Like the colonial powers didn't intend their colonies to eventually become participatory democracies. Well, that's an obvious if redundant statement. I think I found this book a little dry because it still is Euro-centric and very theoretical even though it posits that Euro-centrism isn't necessarily the best way to view intrastate conflicts. However, I'm going to give Holsti another try and read another of his books.

3 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Holsti is God!, March 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The State, War, and the State of War (Cambridge Studies in International Relations) (Paperback)

As a student of Professor Holsti at the Univ. of BC, I could not help but to be impressed with this book. He gives an indepth historical survey of Mankind's war, then focuses on what he dubs as the "wars of the third kind" or low-intensity conflict. He documents case studies on each wars of the third kind, then focuses on what can be done to resolve this new type of conflict.

Two thumbs up, Professor Holsti!

Jeong Lee