In this book, Professor Holsti approaches the study of the origins of war and the foundations of peace from a new perspective. He asks three interrelated questions. Which issues generate conflict? How have attitudes toward war changed? And, what attempts have been made historically to create international institutions and orders that can manage, control or prevent international conflicts? Starting with the peace treaties of Munster and Osnabruck of 1648, Kalevi Holsti examines 177 international wars. Through these, he identifies the variety of conflict-producing issues and how they, as well as the attitudes of policy makers to the use of force, have changed over the past 350 years. He demonstrates how the new orders established by the great peace-making efforts of 1648, 1713, 1815, 1919 and 1945 attempted to solve the issues of the past, yet few successfully anticipated those of the future. Indeed, some created the basis of new conflicts.

在这本书中，霍尔斯蒂教授从一个新的角度来研究战争的起源与和平的基础。他提出了三个相互关联的问题。哪些问题产生了冲突？对战争的态度是如何变化的？还有，历史上为建立能够管理、控制或预防国际冲突的国际机构和秩序做了哪些尝试？从1648年的明斯特和奥斯纳布吕克和平条约开始，卡莱维-霍尔斯蒂研究了177场国际战争。通过这些，他确定了产生冲突的各种问题，以及这些问题和政策制定者对使用武力的态度在过去350年中是如何变化的。他展示了1648年、1713年、1815年、1919年和1945年的伟大和平努力所建立的新秩序是如何试图解决过去的问题的，但很少有成功预测未来的问题。事实上，有些人创造了新冲突的基础。