Globalization and Armed Conflict addresses one of the most important and controversial issues of our time: Does global economic integration foster or suppress violent disputes within and between states? Here, cutting-edge research by leading figures in international relations shows that expanding commercial ties between states pacifies some, but not necessarily all, political relationships. The authors demonstrate that the pacific effect of economic integration hinges on democratic structures, the size of the global system, the nature of the trade goods, and a reduced influence of the...

Some proponents of the peace-through-capitalism thesis controversially contend that this relationship supersedes prominent explanations like democratic peace according to which democratic pairs of states face a reduced risk of conflict. This volume takes stock of the capitalist peace debate. This book is an extended and revised version of a special issue of International Interactions.

The emergence of a large number of states which are willing and able to challenge the norms of the international system constitutes a major challenge to the global community. The contributors to this volume analyse why so many states with high conflict propensities have emerged in the post-Cold war era; explore the different manifestations of riskiness in world politics; and evaluate the international community's capacity to effectively 'enforce' inter-state cooperation.