Has Violence Declined in World Politics? A Discussion of Joshua S. Goldstein’s Winning the War on War: The Decline of Armed Conflict Worldwide

Violence is an ever present and very visible feature of our political landscape. And war—its strategy, its preparation, and its conduct—remains a central preoccupation of political elites and of political scientists. In his new book Winning the War on War, Joshua S. Goldstein sifts the statistical and historiographical evidence to tell a story of how we seem to be winning the long-term fight against war, and why. Goldstein places major emphasis on the rise of international peacekeeping, but he also discusses alternative explanations, such as the liberal peace. In this symposium a number of scholars of international politics, comparative politics, and political theory have been asked to comment on Goldstein’s book and on the broader theme it addresses.—Jeffrey C. Isaac, Editor