Synopsis

Thoroughly revised, the Second Edition of Peace and Conflict Studies sets the new gold standard as an accessible introduction and comprehensive exploration of this vital subject. The authors share their vast knowledge and analysis about 21st-century world events – including new coverage on timely topics such as terrorism, the truth and reconciliation process, and the clash of civilizations. With an encyclopedic scope, this introductory text chronicles a plethora of important global topics from pre-history to the present.

Key Features of the Second Edition

• Includes updated chapters and examines current conflicts, including the Iraq War

• Explores the important aspects of positive peace, individual violence, nationalism, and terrorism

• Provides numerous visual aids, questions for further study, and suggested readings

• Furnishes a comprehensive range of material to enlighten and enrich future discussion and encourage further academic pursuit

Intended Audience

Thistext is invaluable for students and professors in peace and or conflict studies, psychology and or the sociology of peace and conflict studies, international relations, comparative politics, history, and others interested in gaining a solid foundation about the global arena.

Praise for the First Edition

"Barash and Webel have penned a masterpiece that should appeal to seasoned scholars of peace and conflict studies as well as to others who have little knowledge of this multidisciplinary field. "
—Daniel J. Christie, Ohio State University

Booknews

Revising and expanding Barash's core textbook , he and Webel introduce an area of human science that is unabashedly value oriented, and linked to such arenas as poverty, environmental threats, and the denial of human rights. They cover the promise of peace and the problems of war, the reasons for wars, and building negative and positive peace. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Biography

Charles Webel received a multidisciplinary Ph.D. in Psychology, Sociology, Political Science, and Philosophy in 1976 from the University of California, Berkeley. In addition, he has pursued post-doctoral studies at Harvard University and the Max Planck Institute and at the Universities of Paris, Frankfurt, and Heidelberg. A lecturer in the School of Social Welfare at Berkeley, his major fields of concentration include social and political theory; peace and conflict studies; social, political, and cultural psychology; and the philosophy of science and the social sciences. In addition to his academic career, he briefly enjoyed a career in publishing as executive editor of social sciences, social work, and philosophy at Columbia University Press (1980-83).

David P. Barash received his Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Wisconsin in 1970 and has been with the Department of Psychology at the University of Washington since 1973. His studies span animal behavior and social psychology, with concentrations in sociobiology, psychological aspects of the arms race and nuclear war, peace studies, and animal behavior and evolution. A prolific author, he has written 180 technical articles and 19 books ranging from monographs (Marmots: Social Behavior & Ecology) to college textbooks (Sociobiology & Behavior) to popular trade titles (The Great Outdoors and The Whisperings Within). His 1991 Wadsworth text, Introduction to Peace Studies, upon which the current book is derived, helped to shape and define Peace Studies as a formal field of inquiry.