Book Review: Other Areas: Military Threats: The Costs of Coercion and the Price of Peace
| Published date | 01 May 2013 |
| DOI | 10.1111/1478-9302.12016_53 |
| Date | 01 May 2013 |
| Author | Patrick Shea |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
259
Military Threats: The Costs of Coercion and the
theory affects these predictions, or how military moves
Price of Peace by Branislav L. Slantchev. Cam-
affect different regime types in general. Despite this
bridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011. 313pp.,
omission, this work offers a rich theoretical foundation
£55.00, ISBN 9780521763189
for future empirical research on the effectiveness of
military moves in crisis bargaining.
Branislav Slantchev’s Military Threats makes an impres-
sive contribution to the crisis escalation literature. Moti-
Patrick Shea
vated by the puzzle of how states credibly demonstrate
(Rutgers University)
their resolve during a crisis, the author focuses on how
physical military moves affect state behaviour. These
Power
and
Progress:
International
Politics
moves have informational consequences, as they can
in Transition by Jack Snyder (ed.). Abingdon:
signal the credible resolve of a particular state. In addi-
Routledge,
2012.
316pp.,
£25.99,
ISBN
tion, these moves have functional consequences, as they
9780415575737
affect the probability of victory in a potential war. By
endogenising the war pay-off, Slantchev reveals potent
This book brings together a collection of essays written
mechanisms that can explicitly or implicitly compel state
primarily by the leading American international rela-
behaviour.While there are several important theoretical
tions theorist Jack Snyder. Featuring contributions from
results derived from the formal analysis, a major finding
other eminent scholars such as Robert Jervis and
is that military moves can demonstrate credible com-
Thomas J. Christensen, the book focuses on collecting
mitments, but not on the cheap. This is especially trou-
liberal ideas of democratisation and realist ideas of
bling for militarily powerful...
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