This volume analyses the historical background of violent international conflicts. Starting with an analysis of the conflict and cooperation structures in post-communist Eastern Europe and the eastern expansion of the European Union, the author discusses the problem of acts of intervention in response to severe human rights violations, taking Kosovo, Libya and in a further text also Darfur, as examples. To analyse the subject of ethnonational autonomy and independence movements, the author presents case studies on Bosnia-Herzegovina, Belgium, Cyprus, on the Kurdish areas of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey, on Israel/Palestine, on China with regard to Tibet and Xinjiang, and on the genocide of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. The classic subjects of inter-state security and armament policy include the controversy over the nuclear policies of Iran and North Korea, while the analysis of the changes in Russia's political system focuses on their far-reaching consequences for international politics. This book will appeal to students and scholars of international relations and peace and conflict studies, as well as to practitioners and decision makers in the field of peace politics.

Analyses how violent international conflicts can be effectively addressed with the help of prudent peace policies Presents many historical case studies on conflicts including the former Yugoslavia, Iraq, Israel/Palestine, North Korea and other regions Discusses controversial positions on these conflicts, helping the reader to recognise and grasp different political positions on today's issues

Autorentext

Studies in History, Political Science, Geography, and Pedagogics in Marburg/ Lahn, Berlin, Bratislava, 1974-1990 Research Director at the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt, 1975-1993 Professor of Political Science and Political Sociology at the Goethe University of Frankfurt, 1993-2005 Chair/Professor of Political Science and Contemporary History at the University of Mannheim, Visiting Professor at the Universities of Copenhagen, Irvine, Cal., Vilnius, 1993-2009 Research area and project director at the Mannheim Center for Social Research, since 2009 Lecturer at the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Goethe University of Frankfurt.

Inhalt

Preface.- 1 The Structures of Conflict and Cooperation in the East of Europe.- 2 Limits on the Future Expansion of the European Union. On the Disputed Membership of Turkey, Ukraine and Other States.- 3 Kosovo and Elsewhere. Military Interventions in Defence of Human Rights (Humanitarian Interventions).- 4 Bosnia and Herzegovina EU Policy in Deadlock.- 5 Federalisation A First Step Towards the Division of Belgium?.- 6 A Temporary or Terminal Failure of the UN Plans for Cyprus.- 7 The Castling of Presidential Functions by Vladimir Putin.- 8 The Creation of New Fronts Between Russia and the West in the South Caucasus.- 9 On the Way to Two, Three, or Four Kurdistans?.- 10 The Jewish-Arab Conflict Over State Formation and Consolidation Solidation in the Near East.- 11 International Aspects of the Permanent Crisis in Iraq.- 12 The Iranian Atomic Programme A Reason for the Deployment of Defensive Missiles in Europe or Another Military Intervention by the USA?.- 13 Escalating Conflict in Korea Due to Nuclear Armament? Or Prospects for National Reunification?.- 14 Commemoration of Genocide as a Contemporary Political Weapon. The Example of the Ottoman Genocide of the Armenians.- 15 The Toleration of Genocide in Africa From Rwanda to Darfur.- 16 The Han Chinese Ehno-Nationalisation of China (Tibet, Xingjiang).