This volume analyses the historical background of violent international conflicts. Starting with an analysis of the conflict and cooperation structures in post-communist Eastern Europe and the eastern expansion of the European Union, the author discusses the problem of acts of intervention in response to severe human rights violations, taking Kosovo, Libya and in a further text also Darfur, as examples. To analyse the subject of ethnonational autonomy and independence movements, the author presents case studies on Bosnia-Herzegovina, Belgium, Cyprus, on the Kurdish areas of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey, on Israel/Palestine, on China with regard to Tibet and Xinjiang, and on the genocide of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. The classic subjects of inter-state security and armament policy include the controversy over the nuclear policies of Iran and North Korea, while the analysis of the changes in Russia's political system focuses on their far-reaching consequences for international politics. This book will appeal to students and scholars of international relations and peace and conflict studies, as well as to practitioners and decision makers in the field of peace politics.