Regions, Power, and Conflict : Constrained Capabilities, Hierarchy, and Rivalry

The three main levels of analysis in international relations have been the systemic, the national, and the individual. A fourth level that falls between the systemic and the national is the region. It is woefully underdeveloped in comparison to the attention afforded the other three. Yet regions tend to be distinctive theaters for international politics. Otherwise, we would not recognize that Middle Eastern interstate politics somehow does not resemble Latin American interstate politics or interstate politics in Southern Africa (although once the Middle East and Southern Africa may have seemed more similar in their mutual fixation with opposition to domestic policies in Israel and South Africa, respectively).

This book, divided into three parts, first makes a case for studying regional politics even though it must also be appreciated that regional boundaries are also hazy and not always easy to pin down empirically. The second part examines power distributions within regions as an important entry point to studying regional similarities and differences. Two emphases are stressed. One is that regional power assessments need to be conditioned by controlling for weak states which are more common in some regions than they are in others. The other emphasis is on regional power hierarchies. Some regions have strong regional hierarchies while others do not. Regions with strong hierarchies operate much differently from those without them in the sense that the former are more pacific than the latter. The third part of the book focuses on regional differences in terms of conflict behavior, order preferences, rivalries, and rivalry termination.

William R. Thompson is Distinguished Professor and Rogers Chair of Political Science Emeritus at Indiana University and Editor-in-chief of the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics. He is a former President of the International Studies Association and twice Editor-in-Chief of International Studies Quarterly.

Thomas J. Volgy is professor of political science at the University of Arizona and former director of the International Studies Association. He has published over 80 articles and books focused on interstate conflict, status issues in international politics, and comparative regional analysis.

Paul Bezerra is an assistant professor of Military & Strategic Studies at the U.S. Air Force Academy, and previously worked as the National Security Affairs Postdoctoral Fellow at the U.S. Naval War College (2018). His research focuses on economic statecraft and corresponding patterns of political resistance and cooperation.

Jacob Cramer is a Senior Researcher with RTI International, and previously worked as the Analysis Administrator for the Tucson Police Department. His research focuses on domestic and international extremism and policing. He earned his Ph.D., in political science from the School of Government and Public Policy at the University of Arizona in 2015.

Kelly Gordell is a PhD candidate in political science at the University of Arizona, with emphasis in international relations. She holds an MA and BA in political science, also from UA. Her work focuses on domestic/international consequences of destabilizing events, as well as involvement by international communities in post-conflict conditions.

Manjeet S. Pardesi is Senior Lecturer in the Political Science and International Relations Programme and Asia Research Fellow at the Centre for Strategic Studies at Victoria University of Wellington.

Karen Rasler is Professor of Political Science Emerita at Indiana University. She was a member of three editing teams for International Studies Quarterly encompassing some parts of three decades. Her primary research interest focuses on processes of domestic political contention.

Patrick Rhamey Jr. is associate professor in the Department of International Studies and Political Science at the Virginia Military Institute and serves on the board of the TransResearch Consortium. His publications include work on the behaviors of major and regional powers, comparative regionalism, and the international politics of sport.

Kentaro Sakuwa is an associate professor of international politics at the School of International Politics, Economics, and Communication (SIPEC), Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo, Japan. His research focuses on the causes of conflict and peace, especially from the regional, spatial, and network perspectives.

Rachel Van Nostrand is a third-year PhD Student at the University of Arizona, studying International Relations and Research Methods. Her primary research interests include the spatial determinants of violence and post-conflict environments.

Leila Zakhirova is Associate Professor of Political Science at Concordia College, Moorhead, MN. She is also a co-editor of Asian Security. She is currently researching the impact of climate change on human security.