Assembled by one of the most renowned scholars in the field, this collection aims to help readers sort out the main debates concerning the possibility and place of war in the post-Cold War world.

Is war likely to remain a major problem now that the Cold War is well behind us? The essays in this collection outline contrasting arguments about the future of the post-Cold War world and puts them in philosophical and historical context. Professor Betts has framed the readings in a topically organized and ideologically balanced survey of the most relevant schools of thought, examining the arguments about what political, economic, social and military factors tend to cause war and whether such causes can be made obsolete.