ABSTRACT

This chapter argues, first, that regions are the most useful analytical tool for identifying some of the key variations in war and peace in the international system. Second, we have to distinguish between the more intense or ‘hot’ outcomes of war and peace, versus the less intense ones of ‘cold’ war and ‘cold’ peace. On the whole, whereas the outcomes of cold war and cold peace are affected by the type of great-power regional engagement, the more intense hot or warm outcomes of war and peace are best accounted by regional factors. These regional factors are captured by what I call the ‘state-to-nation balance’ in the region.