Recent generations have experienced dramatic improvements in the quality of human life across the globe. Wars between states are fought less frequently and are less lethal. Food is more plentiful and more easily accessed. In most parts of the world, birthrates are down and life expectancy up. Significantly fewer people live in extreme poverty, relative to the overall population. Statistics would argue that the human race has never before flourished as it has in this moment. And yet, even with this progress, we face a number of seemingly intractable challenges to the welfare of both states and individuals, including: Governmental instability undermining the lives of citizens, both within and beyond their borders; Persistent and recurring intrastate conflict due to ineffective conflict management strategies; Marginally successful development efforts and growing income inequality, both within and between nations, as a result of uncoordinated and ineffective global development strategies; Internecine conflict in multiethnic societies, manifested by exclusion, discrimination, and ultimately violence, the inevitable consequence of an insufficient focus on managing the inherent tensions in diverse societies; Global climate change with the possibility of catastrophic long-term consequences, following an inability to effectively come to terms with and respond to the impact of human activity on our environment. These challenges require a newly collaborative, intentional, and systematic approach. This book offers a blueprint for how to get there, calling for increased leadership responsibility, clarity of mission, and empowerment of states and individuals. It is designed to transform lofty but often vague agendas into concrete, measurable progress. It believes in the capacity of humanity to rise to the occasion, to come together to address these increasingly critical global problems, and offers one way forward.

Recent generations have experienced dramatic improvements in the quality of human life across the globe. Wars between states are fought less frequently and are less lethal. Food is more plentiful and more easily accessed. In most parts of the world, birthrates are down and life expectancy up. Significantly fewer people live in extreme poverty, relative to the overall population. Statistics would argue that the human race has never before flourished as it has in this moment. And yet, even with this progress, we face a number of seemingly intractable challenges to the welfare of both states and individuals, including: Governmental instability undermining the lives of citizens, both within and beyond their borders; Persistent and recurring intrastate conflict due to ineffective conflict management strategies; Marginally successful development efforts and growing income inequality, both within and between nations, as a result of uncoordinated and ineffective global development strategies; Internecine conflict in multiethnic societies, manifested by exclusion, discrimination, and ultimately violence, the inevitable consequence of an insufficient focus on managing the inherent tensions in diverse societies; Global climate change with the possibility of catastrophic long-term consequences, following an inability to effectively come to terms with and respond to the impact of human activity on our environment. These challenges require a newly collaborative, intentional, and systematic approach. This book offers a blueprint for how to get there, calling for increased leadership responsibility, clarity of mission, and empowerment of states and individuals. It is designed to transform lofty but often vague agendas into concrete, measurable progress. It believes in the capacity of humanity to rise to the occasion, to come together to address these increasingly critical global problems, and offers one way forward.

This new book shows how international crises are dangerous episodes that can be destabilizing not only to the actors directly involved but also to the entire international system. Recognizing the primacy of crises as defining moments in international relations, scholars and policy makers alike are increasingly concerned with identifying mechanisms for crisis prevention, management and resolution. Mediating International Crises is the first comprehensive study into one such mechanism that has been used with increasing frequency in the 20th Century: mediation by a third party. This important research attempts to determine whether third party mediation is an effective means of alleviating or managing the turbulent and violent consequences of crises. The authors examine three approaches to mediation: facilitation communication between parties, formulating possible agreements and manipulating the parties through sanctions or rewards. They explore how these mediation approaches affect crisis outcomes through sanctions or rewards The book begins with a thorough discussion of the theoretical literature on mediation, with particular attention paid to the important distinction between crisis management and conflict resolution. The authors then provide empirical analyses of instances of mediation in 20th century international crises, which is supplemented with data derived from simulated negotiation settings with human subjects.

This new book shows how international crises are dangerous episodes that can be destabilizing not only to the actors directly involved but also to the entire international system. Recognizing the primacy of crises as defining moments in international relations, scholars and policy makers alike are increasingly concerned with identifying mechanisms for crisis prevention, management and resolution. Mediating International Crises is the first comprehensive study into one such mechanism that has been used with increasing frequency in the 20th Century: mediation by a third party. This important research attempts to determine whether third party mediation is an effective means of alleviating or managing the turbulent and violent consequences of crises. The authors examine three approaches to mediation: facilitation communication between parties, formulating possible agreements and manipulating the parties through sanctions or rewards. They explore how these mediation approaches affect crisis outcomes through sanctions or rewards The book begins with a thorough discussion of the theoretical literature on mediation, with particular attention paid to the important distinction between crisis management and conflict resolution. The authors then provide empirical analyses of instances of mediation in 20th century international crises, which is supplemented with data derived from simulated negotiation settings with human subjects.

"Peace and Conflict" is a biennial publication that provides cutting-edge data and analysis concerning domestic and international conflicts and corresponding peacebuilding activities.Regular features of the book include chapters that forecast the future risks of political and social instability, as well as report trends and patterns in conflict, democratization, and terrorism.The special theme of the 2014 edition is the trend toward focusing on the micro level in the study of conflict and peacebuilding. Chapters addressing this theme examine the finely grained relationships observed below the level of nation-states, with attention to key topics such as ethnicity, climate, foreign aid, sexual violence, mass atrocities, and humanitarian and reconstruction responses. "Peace and Conflict" is a large-format, full-color resource with numerous graphs, tables, maps, and appendices dedicated to the visual and summary presentation of information. Crisp narratives are highlighted with pull-quote extracts emphasizing major findings."Peace and Conflict 2014" was featured on Fareed Zakaria GPS, Found HereAlso see Zakaria's article in the "Washington Post"Found Here

Peace and Conflict is a biennial publication that provides cutting-edge data and analysis concerning domestic and international conflicts and corresponding peacebuilding activities. The book include forecasts of risks of political and social instability, as well as trends and patterns in conflict. The 2014 edition focusses on the 'micro level' in the study of conflict and peacebuilding, such as social relationships below the level of the nation-state, with attention to key topics such as ethnicity, climate change, foreign aid and sexual violence. Peace and Conflict is a large-format, full-color resource with numerous graphs, tables, maps, and appendices dedicated to the visual and summary presentation of information. Crisp narratives are highlighted with pull-quote extracts emphasizing major findings.

The process of negotiation, standing as it does between war and peace in many parts of the globe, has never been a more vital process to understand than in today's rapidly changing international system. Students of negotiation must first understand key IR concepts as they try to incorporate the dynamics of the many anomalous actors that regularly interact with conventional state agents in the diplomatic arena. This hands-on text provides an essential introduction to this high-stakes realm, exploring the impact of complex multilateralism on traditional negotiation concepts such as bargaining, issue salience, and strategic choice. Using an easy-to-understand board game analogy as a framework for studying negotiation episodes, the authors include a rich array of real-world cases and examples to illustrate key themes, including the intensity of crisis situations for negotiators, the role of culture in communication, and the impact of domestic-level politics on international negotiations. Providing tools for analyzing why negotiations succeed or fail, this innovative text also presents effective exercises and learning approaches that enable students to understand the complexities of negotiation by engaging in the diplomatic process themselves.

The process of negotiation, standing as it does between war and peace in many parts of the globe, has never been a more vital process to understand than in today's rapidly changing international system. Students of negotiation must first understand key IR concepts as they try to incorporate the dynamics of the many anomalous actors that regularly interact with conventional state agents in the diplomatic arena. This hands-on text provides an essential introduction to this high-stakes realm, exploring the impact of complex multilateralism on traditional negotiation concepts such as bargaining, issue salience, and strategic choice. Using an easy-to-understand board game analogy as a framework for studying negotiation episodes, the authors include a rich array of real-world cases and examples-now updated with the results of the Paris climate change agreement-to illustrate key themes, including the intensity of crisis situations for negotiators, the role of culture in communication, and the impact of domestic-level politics on international negotiations. Providing tools for analyzing why negotiations succeed or fail, this innovative text also presents effective exercises and learning approaches that enable students to understand the complexities of negotiation by engaging in the diplomatic process themselves.