Kirjahaku

In a tradition that dates back to the time of Thucydides, and the Peloponnesian War, the systematic examination of conflict and war has long been a preoccupation of political scientists seeking to resolve the enduring question: Why do wars occur? This study directly engages this question with a specific focus on explaining the conflict between Iran and Iraq, arguably the longest and one of the more costly conventional wars of the twentieth century. Explaining the systemic nature of conflict within the Middle East, and specifically between Iran and Iraq, the book illustrates how IR theory can be utilised in explaining conflict dynamics in the Middle East. The author’s integrated approach to understanding interstate conflict escalation demonstrates that when taken together issues, interaction and power capabilities lend themselves to a much richer account of the dyadic relationship between Iran and Iraq in the lead up to war in 1980.Addressing a disparity between international relations and Middle Eastern area studies, this book fills an important gap in the existing scholarly literature on the causes of war. As such, it will be of great interest to scholars of peace and conflict studies, Middle Eastern studies and International Relations.

In a tradition that dates back to the time of Thucydides, and the Peloponnesian War, the systematic examination of conflict and war has long been a preoccupation of political scientists seeking to resolve the enduring question: Why do wars occur? This study directly engages this question with a specific focus on explaining the conflict between Iran and Iraq, arguably the longest and one of the more costly conventional wars of the twentieth century. Explaining the systemic nature of conflict within the Middle East, and specifically between Iran and Iraq, the book illustrates how IR theory can be utilised in explaining conflict dynamics in the Middle East. The author’s integrated approach to understanding interstate conflict escalation demonstrates that when taken together issues, interaction and power capabilities lend themselves to a much richer account of the dyadic relationship between Iran and Iraq in the lead up to war in 1980.Addressing a disparity between international relations and Middle Eastern area studies, this book fills an important gap in the existing scholarly literature on the causes of war. As such, it will be of great interest to scholars of peace and conflict studies, Middle Eastern studies and International Relations.

Born in 1915 in France to artistsan American mother with Quaker roots from New York, and a New Zealand-born fatherThomas Merton would become one of the twentieth centurys most influential spiritual leaders. Baptized as a Catholic at age twenty-six, he joined a Trappist monastery near Louisville a year later. From that point on, his spiritual side exploded into a tsunami of directionsEastern Orthodoxy, Judaism, Islam, Taoism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and more. At age thirty-three, he became a best-selling author, beginning with his autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain. He corresponded with Nobel Prize laureates and other literary and political luminaries. His public opposition to the Vietnam War assured his worldwide celebrity. In late 1968, at the peak of his popularity, Merton died in Thailand after addressing a conference of Western Christian monks and nurses stationed in Asia. For decades it was thought that, wet from a shower, he was electrocuted by a faulty standing fan. But for a growing number of his admirers there were dark suspicions that he might well have been assassinated by those who feared his antiwar message. In 2013 the author and his wife Sharon retraced Mertons last days in Thailand. This book tells what they learned.