Guide to the Scientific Study of International Processes

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

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

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 and Domestic Law Goes Global: Legal Traditions and International Courts (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.