J. David Singer - Advancing Peace Research: Leaving Traces, Selected Articles

J. David Singer was arguably the most important influence on quantitative research into the attributes and indicators of the onset of war and its prevention. His pioneering work on the Correlates of War project at the University of Michigan and his numerous books and articles have inspired generations of researchers in the fields of international relations, conflict analysis, security studies, and peace science.

This collection is a carefully selected overview of his work which provides not only an excellent introduction to his considerable methodological, theoretical, and empirical contributions, but also an intellectual history of developments in the field of international relations which are reflected and pioneered in Professor Singers work.

This is essential reading for all those with an interest in the use of quantitative methods in social science, the changing nature of the study of international relations, and the analysis of war and peace.

Jody B. Lear graduated with a degree in political science from the University of Michigan (1983). Jody and her husband owned and operated a successful small business for 23 years while rearing four children. In 2005, Jody renewed her interest in international politics and met David when he agreed to a series of interviews for her masters thesis, during which time David welcomed her into collaboration on his anthology. Jody currently resides in the Western North Carolina mountains where she continues to write a book about Israels security dilemmas, while also working on several creative non-fiction projects.

Diane Macaulay was married to David Singer from 1990 until his death in 2009. She is a retired social scientist, continues to live in the house where she and Singer lived together, tends her psyche on its two acres, and works for a non-profit organization.

Meredith Reid Sarkees is a long-time affiliate of the Correlates of War project and co-host of the datasets on inter-state, extra-state, intra-state, and non-state wars. She also worked with David Singer in the Caucus for a New Political Science for many years. Her other research area is womens leadership, and she currently serves as president of the Global Womens Leadership in International Security and as a senior researcher for the Girl Scout Research Institute.

First published 2012

by Routledge

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2012 selection and editorial matter Jody B. Lear, Diane Macaulay, and Meredith Reid Sarkees; individual contributions: J. David Singer

The right of Jody B. Lear, Diane Macaulay, and Meredith Reid Sarkees to be identified as editors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Singer, J. David (Joel David), 19252009.
Advancing peace research : leaving traces : selected articles by
J. David Singer/edited by Jody B. Lear, Diane Macaulay & Meredith Reid Sarkees.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. PeaceResearch. I. Lear, Jody B. II. Macaulay, Diane. III. Sarkees, Meredith Reid, 1950 IV. Title.
JZ5534.S56 2012
303.66dc23
2011033432

ISBN: 978-0-415-77959-3 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-0-415-77960-9 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-0-203-12839-8 (ebk)

To all David Singers students and colleagues, known and unknown, who study war and the correlates of war systematically and cumulatively; and to the readers who learn how rarely the costs of war are justified by the gains.

As I move into the later stages of my career, it seems natural to ask what does it all add up to? On the one hand, having taught thousands of college students over the past half century, there are good memoriesby and large reassuring. But aside from a handful of fan letters at the end of a semester, or even less frequently twenty or thirty years later, ones teaching does not leave much of a tangible trace, at least in terms of ones undergraduate students. On the other hand, if an academic is as fortunate as I have been in working with a good many graduate students at the University of Michigan and elsewhere, these younger scholars do leave something of a mark. There are, for example, several festschrifts (collections of their writings in my honor). One of these, Prisoners of War? , was put together by Charles Gochman and Alan Sabrosky (Lexington Books, 1990), and later on, The Scourge of War was inspired and edited by Paul Diehl (University of Michigan Press, 2004). Then of course, there are hundreds of articles and a score or so books published by a cross-section of my former students. One might also think of the handful of books that I co-authored or co-edited with former students and collaborators, including Melvin Small, Michael Wallace, Stuart Bremer, Richard Stoll, and Daniel Geller.