Standing Your Ground: Territorial Disputes and International Conflict

Through an examination of 129 territorial disputes between 1950 and 1990, Paul Huth presents a new theoretical approach for analyzing the foreign policy behavior of states, one that integrates insights from traditional realist as well as domestic political approaches to the study of foreign policy. Huth's approach is premised on the belief that powerful explanations of security policy must be built on the recognition that foreign policy leaders are domestic politicians who are very attentive to the domestic implications of foreign policy actions. Hypotheses derived from this new modified realist mode are then empirically tested by a combination of statistical and case study analysis.
". . . a welcome contribution to our understanding of how and why some territorial disputes escalate to war."--American Political Science Review
Paul Huth is Associate Professor of Political Science and Associate Research Scientist, Center for Political Studies, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan.