ABSTRACT
In the 18 years that have elapsed since the end of the Cold War, the international system has been torn by the eruption of more inter-and intra-state conflicts than was the case during the previous half-century-long standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union. Ranging geographically from the Balkans and subSaharan Africa to the Middle East and Asia, the proliferation of conflicts in the post-Cold War era is aĴributable to a variety of causes, including the pursuit of traditional geopolitical interests and the resurgence of age-old ethnic and religious rivalries. A common thread linking such conflicts is the need to stabilize and then rebuild a state or broader region involved in a given war once hostilities have come to a conclusion.
