Synopses & Reviews
This edited volume offers students and researchers in international relations a wide-ranging survey of SSIP, the well established analytical approach to IR that employs rigorous methodology. Both strands of SSIP are represented here, one devoted to the collection and analysis of data, the other concerned with developing IR theories using mathematical models. SSIP has traditionally focused on issues related to security and conflict, yet this book reflects recent developments, which include a growing emphasis on civil wars, and models linking domestic and international processes.
Separate sections deal with methodology, substantive topics in conflict and cooperation, and lastly, what SSIP has brought to our understanding of IR, as well as likely directions for future research. The book provides readers with valuable insights into the datasets, methodological advances, formal models, and theoretical arguments advanced by the SSIP research community. As the successes enjoyed by the SSIP approach raise its profile in the academic literature, this volume will introduce a new generation of researchers to the many applications of empirical techniques in IR.
Review
“This is a superb survey of one of the leading research communities in the international relations field. It includes analyses of all the right topics by all the right people. The Guide is an invaluable resource both for the classroom and for the cutting-edge scholar.”—
Jack S. Levy, Rutgers University“Every once in a very long while a volume comes along that transforms our understanding of international politics. This is such a volume. It offers a comprehensive, clear, and compelling account of the scientific progress made over the past few decades thanks to SSIP. This is a volume that belongs on the syllabus of every introductory undergraduate and every introductory graduate-level course on international relations. It is a truly important book for anyone at any level who wants to understand international affairs.”—Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, NYU and Senior Fellow Emeritus, the Hoover Institution, Stanford University
Synopsis
Dedicated to the empirical analysis of data from the world of international relations, SSIP scholars tend to focus on interstate conflicts, civil wars, and conflict management. The range of perspectives in this edited volume provide a comprehensive introduction to SSIP theory and methodology.
- Fresh approach traces intellectual development of research approaches rather than merely summarizing results
- Features original SSIP material not found in other books
- Includes a number of essays with a broader assessment of SSIP methods - ideal for younger scholars interested in the approach
- Includes recent SSIP analyses exploring issues such as civil wars
About the Author
Sara McLaughlin Mitchell is Professor of Political Science and Collegiate Scholar at the University of Iowa, USA. Co-director of the Issue Correlates of War Project and associate editor of
Foreign Policy Analysis, she has published more than two dozen journal articles and book chapters. She is the author of
Domestic Law Goes Global: Legal Traditions and International Courts (with Emilia Justyna Powell, 2011).
Paul F. Diehl is Henning Larsen Professor of Political Science at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA. He has held faculty positions at the University of Georgia and SUNY-Albany. His recent books include The Dynamics of International Law (2010), Evaluating Peace Operations (2010), and The Politics of Global Governance: International Organizations in an Interdependent World (2010).
James D. Morrow is Professor of Political Science and Research Professor at the University of Michigan, USA. He is the author of The Logic of Political Survival (2003) and Game Theory for Political Scientists (1994), as well as more than 30 articles in refereed journals and numerous other publications.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments vii
About the Contributors ix
Editors’ Introduction xiii
Sara McLaughlin Mitchell, Paul F. Diehl, and James D. Morrow
Section I The SSIP Approach 1
1 The Origins and Evolution of SSIP: How Methods Met Models, with a Short Interlude 3
Kelly M. Kadera and Dina Zinnes
2 Game Theory and Other Modeling Approaches 23
Frank C. Zagare and Branislav L. Slantchev
3 Review of Available Data Sets 43
Paul R. Hensel
4 Teaching the Scientific Study of International Politics 63
D. Scott Bennett
5 The Interaction of Theory and Data 81
James D. Morrow
Section II Causes of Interstate and Intrastate War 91
6 Systemic Theories of Conflict 93
Karen Rasler and William R. Thompson
7 Territory and Geography 115
Jaroslav Tir and John A. Vasquez
8 The Quest for Security: Alliances and Arms 135
Brett Ashley Leeds and T. Clifton Morgan
9 Programmatic Research on the Democratic Peace 151
Steve Chan
10 Domestic–International Conflict Linkages 171
Will H. Moore and Ahmer Tarar
11 Civil Wars 189
Idean Salehyan and Clayton L. Thyne
12 The Conduct and Consequences of War 209
Alyssa K. Prorok and Paul K. Huth
13 The Durability of Peace 233
Caroline A. Hartzell and Amy Yuen
Section III The Future of SSIP 251
14 The Past and Future of the Scientific Study of International Politics 253
Zeev Maoz
Index 271