Conflict is the heart of international relations and at the end of the 20th century it is occuring in new and vexing forms. This textbook looks at conflict both as an important new subject in its own right and as a powerful lens through which to view international relations more generally. Hauss provides an introduction to theory and practice. He opens by retracing the three stages in most typologies of international conflict: origins, ending the fighting and reconciliation. These are discussed both in terms of traditional theories and new theories, some of the latter from outside the usual boundaries of political science and IR. Jauss argues that such new theories take us further in understanding the kinds of conflicts we have seen since the end of the Cold War and are likely to see in the coming decades. A broad selection of case studies, covering the major conflicts the world has faced since 1990, provide readers with the material they can use to form their own judgement about the theories.