Why do some international crises between major states escalate to war while others do not? To shed light on this question, this book reviews fifteen such crises during the period 1815–present, including the Crimean War, The Franco-Prussian War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the 2022 Russia-Ukraine War. Each chapter places the crisis at hand in its historical context, provides a narrative of the case's events that focuses on the decision-makers involved, theoretically analyses the case's outcome in light of current research, and inductively draws some lessons from the case for both scholars and policymakers. The book concludes by exploring common patterns and drawing some broader lessons that apply to the practice of diplomacy and international relations theory. Integrating qualitative information with the rich body of quantitative research on interstate war and peace, this unique volume is a major contribution to crisis diplomacy and war studies.

‘Why some crises escalate to war while others do not is a critical question for both theorists and policymakers. Vasquez and Owsiak answer with a masterful integration of theory, data, and history in a penetrating analysis of decision-making in fifteen of the most important international crises of the last hundred years.'

Jack S. Levy - Rutgers University

‘A theoretically and empirically rich examination of when and how international crises escalate to war and when they do not. This book offers fascinating materials on a wide range of cases in the modern era and the plausible explanations for their occurrence. New and old research findings on crises and war are assembled and evaluated for an easy to read, yet thorough analysis.'

T. V. Paul - Distinguished James McGill Professor, Department of Political Science, McGill University and co-editor of International Organizations and Peaceful Change in World Politics (Cambridge University Press, 2025)