Book Notes
| Date | 01 November 2003 |
| DOI | 10.1177/00223433030406020 |
| Published date | 01 November 2003 |
| Author | Pavel Baev |
| Subject Matter | Notes |
with us, I would have asked him if we are seeing
a gradual ‘Singaporization’ of China.
Stein Tønnesson
Mansfield, Edward D. & Brian M. Pollins,
eds, 2003. Economic Interdependence and Inter-
national Conflict: New Perspectives on an Enduring
Debate. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan
Press. vi + 358 pp. ISBN 047206827X (paper-
back).
As readers of JPR undoubtedly know, the nexus
between economic interdependence and inter-
national conflict currently enjoys widespread
scholarly attention in the peace research com-
munity. One reason for this interest is that the
‘Democratic Peace’ has survived repeated chal-
lenges and is now widely considered to be an
important empirical regularity. However, what
remains much more contested is whether trade
and other economic exchanges pacify interstate
relationships. This volume offers a careful evalu-
ation of current research on this topic and
attempts to offer some guidelines for future
research. Most of the 20 chapters succeed with
this double mission. Yet, some contributions are
ultra-short. Because the arguments are more
sketched than fully developed, it is difficult to
grasp fully the new ideas. To this reader, the
section on methodological issues was of
particular interest. Others might find the
measurement or general theoretical discussions to
be especially pertinent. One research gap that is
not covered is the question of whether or not
economic openness also appeases intrastate
relationships. Furthermore, no author coherently
links the peace-through-trade hypothesis to the
burgeoning political economy literature on trade
policymaking. Although the editors and some
authors offer guidelines on how we could move
beyond the theoretical tradition, most chapters
still implicitly buy into the neoclassic assumption
of a welfare-maximizing government. The main
new insight advocated by the editors and a
majority of the authors is that the impact of
economic interdependence is linked to important
boundary conditions that need to be further
explored. It remains to be seen which proposed
causal arguments drafted in this context will be of
longer-term interest. Gerald Schneider
Münkler, Herfried, 2003. Der neue Golfkrieg
[The New Gulf War]. Reinbek bei Hamburg:
Rowohlt. 176 pp. ISBN 3498044907.
Herfried Münkler, one of Germany’s most
prominent contemporary political scientists,
offers in this new book his interpretation of the
recent war on Iraq. According to his understand-
ing, the Bush administration, in turning from
containment to war, did so in order to rearrange
the political landscape of the Middle East.
Washington could not continue the sanctions
against Iraq indefinitely without constantly wors-
ening its relationship with the Muslim world and
thus endangering the US position in the region.
Enforced regime change – even at the cost of war
– seemed to be the only sensible option for the
world hegemon. Therefore, the aim of the attack
was to topple Saddam Hussein, and to promote a
new Iraqi government that would be more inter-
ested in creating prosperity than in striving for
local dominance. Münkler, who is an ardent
admirer of Thucydides, gives a thoroughly ‘realist’
interpretation of events and political background.
The advantage of this approach is that it provides
a lucid interpretation of a complex political situ-
ation and a complicated sequence of events.
Unfortunately, Münkler does not avoid the two
major mistakes often encountered in ‘realist’
interpretations: (1) a tendency to discount the
relevance of ideas, ideologies and moral factors
within international relations, and (2) an
irrational belief in the rationality of all political
planning and execution. Therefore, Münkler
assumes that a certain understanding of self-
interest and the perpetuation of hegemony
necessarily are and will be the sole basis of US
foreign policy. For Europeans, he suggests, this
means that they can play an independent role in
international politics only if they are willing to
create and pay for a modern unified military force
that turns ‘Europe’ into a real partner of the
United States. Dieter Janssen
Oliker, Olga & Thomas S. Szayna, eds, 2003.
Faultlines of Conflict in Central Asia and the South
Caucasus: Implications for the U.S. Army. Santa
Monica, CA & Arlington, VA: RAND. xxvii +
379 pp. ISBN 0833032607.
This densely packed volume continues the series of
publications from RAND which present current
BOOK NOTES 751
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