The discipline of international relations offers much insight into why violent power transitions occur, yet there have been few substantive examinations of why and how peaceful changes happen in world politics. This work is the first comprehensive treatment of that subject. The Oxford Handbook of Peaceful Change in International Relations provides a thorough examination of research on the problem of change in the international arena and the reasons why change happens peacefully at times, and at others, violently. It contains over forty chapters, which examine the historical, theoretical, global, regional, and national foreign-policy dimensions of peaceful change. As the world enters a new round of power transition conflict, involving a rapidly rising China and a relatively declining United States, this Handbook provides a necessary resource for decisionmakers and scholars engaged in this vital area of research.
“Too much commentary on war and peace from pundits and the DC foreign-policy “blob” is based on an anachronistic set of cliches and anecdotes and is ignorant of the growing scholarship on peaceful change from a variety of perspectives. This handbook is a vital resource for introducing depth and fresh ideas into this arena.”
Steven Pinker, Harvard University, and author of The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence has Declined.
“This handbook examines one of the critical questions of international politics going back to Immanuel Kant: how to explain and promote peaceful change in the relations between states. This issue was a major concern of international relations scholars in the 1930s, but since the Cold War, it has been sidelined by other concerns. The editors have mobilized a group of international authors to explore the issue. Forty-one outstanding chapters address the problem from diverse theoretical, historical, and regional perspectives. This handbook should help restore the problem of peaceful change to the center of the discipline.“
Kal Holsti, University of British Columbia, and author of Taming the Sovereigns: Institutional Change in International Politics.
“Before the First World War, it was common for intellectuals in Europe and North America to proclaim war to be “necessary for human progress.” After that war, the sentiment was only rarely voiced, and over the next hundred years international war has declined greatly as a means for settling differences between states. Nonetheless, human progress has continued quite nicely without war’s stimulus. This volume gathers extensive commentary on the often neglected, but clearly important, process of peaceful change. It is much needed. “
John Mueller, Ohio State University and Cato Institute, and author of The Stupidity of War: American Foreign Policy and the Case for Complacency.
“In these times of transition and change, it is even more important than before to push the frontiers of our understanding of peaceful change in international relations. This unique volume is a very valuable resource for scholars and students alike.“
Evelyn Goh, The Australian National University, author of The Struggle for Orde:; Hegemony, Hierarchy and Transition in Post-Cold War Asia.
“Its theoretical ambition, conceptual depth, and historical breadth make this volume a seminal contribution to the study of peaceful change. This book provides profound insight to scholars and practitioners alike into the potential for peaceful international change – but also illuminates the formidable obstacles that stand in its way. Peaceful change has long been understudied; this volume goes a long way toward filling the gap.“
Charles A. Kupchan, Georgetown University and Council on Foreign Relations and author of How Enemies Become Friends: The Sources of Stable Peace
November 12, 2021: Roundtable on The Oxford Handbook of Peaceful Change in International Relations, Griffith University, Centre for Governance and Public Policy, Online event.
T.V. Paul is James McGill Professor of International Relations in the Department of Political Science at McGill University, Montreal, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He served as President of the International Studies Association (ISA) during 2016-17. Paul specializes in International Relations, especially international security and South Asia. He received his undergraduate education from Kerala University, India; MPhil in International Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi; and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Paul is the author or editor of 21 books, nearly 85 journal articles and book chapters, and has lectured at universities and research institutions internationally. His 7 authored books are: Restraining Great Powers: Soft Balancing from Empires to the Global Era (Yale University Press, 2018); The Warrior State: Pakistan in the Contemporary World (Oxford University Press, 2014, with multiple editions and translations); Globalization and the National Security State (with N. Ripsman), (Oxford University Press, 2010); The Tradition of Non-use of Nuclear Weapons (Stanford University Press, 2009); India in the World Order (Cambridge University Press, 2002, with B. Nayar); Power versus Prudence: Why Nations Forgo Nuclear Weapons (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2000); and Asymmetric Conflicts: War Initiation by Weaker Powers (Cambridge University Press, 1994).
Paul is the editor or co-editor of 14 volumes including: The Oxford Handbook of Peaceful Change in International Relations, (with Deborah Larson, Harold Trinkunas, Anders Wivel and Ralf Emmers) International Institutions and Power Politics (with A. Wivel, Georgetown, 2019; China-India Rivalry in the Globalization Era, Georgetown, 2018; Accommodating Rising Powers: Past, Present and Future, Cambridge, 2016; Status in World Politics, with W. Wholforth and D. Larson, Cambridge, 2014; International Relations Theory and Regional Transformation, Cambridge, 2012; South Asia’s Weak States: Understanding the Regional Insecurity Predicament, Stanford, 2010; Complex Deterrence: Strategy In the Global Age (with P.M. Morgan and J. J. Wirtz, Chicago, 2009; The India-Pakistan Conflict: An Enduring Rivalry, Cambridge, 2005; Balance of Power: Theory and Practice in the 21st Century, with J.J. Wirtz and M. Fortmann, Stanford, 2004; International Order and the Future of World Politics, with J.A. Hall, Cambridge, 1999, 2000 (twice), 2001, 2002 & 2003; and The Absolute Weapon Revisited: Nuclear Arms and the Emerging International Order, with R. Harknett and J.J. Wirtz, Michigan, 1998 & 2000.
In November 2018, Paul was inducted into the Royal Society of Canada as a Fellow. In December 2009, Paul’s Book, The Tradition of Non-use of Nuclear Weapons was selected for inclusion in the Peace Prize Laureate Exhibition honoring President Barack Obama by the Nobel Peace Center, Oslo. Power versus Prudence was selected as an ‘Outstanding Academic Title for 2001’ by the Choice Magazine and as a “Book for Understanding’ by the American Association of University Presses. In March 2005 Maclean Magazine’s Guide to Canadian Universities rated Paul as one of the “most popular professors” at McGill University and in May 2005 Paul became the recipient of High Distinction in Research Award by McGill’s Faculty of Arts. During 2009-12 he served as the Director (Founding) of the McGill University/Université de Montreal Centre for International Peace and Security Studies (CIPSS). He has held visiting positions at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (2014, 2017 &2018); Diplomatic Academy, Vienna (2014 onwards); UC Berkeley (2013); East-West Center, Honolulu (2013); the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey (2002-03), Harvard University (1997-98), and as the KPS Menon Visiting Chair for Diplomacy (2011) and Erudite Fellow (2016) at the MG University, Kottayam, India. In addition to President, during 2009-11, he served as the Chair of the International Security Section (ISSS) of the ISA; in 2013-14 as Vice-President of ISA. As ISA president, he spearheaded a taskforce on improving conditions of Global South scholars in international studies. In 2010 he was appointed as the editor of the Georgetown University Press book series: South Asia in World Affairs. He is the founding director of GRENPEC and currently developing the network’s research agenda along with several colleagues from different parts of the world. For more, see: www.tvpaul.com