ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I HAVE BEEN the beneficiary of much support and assistance throughout the writing of this book. David Laitin read every version of this work, from its distant beginning as a graduate school paper to the final book manuscript. He offered invaluable guidance throughout the process and made the whole experience more enjoyable as a result. No one could ask for a better mentor. James Fearon and Stephen Walt were equally important in my training as a scholar. Both read numerous versions of the manuscript and were always generous with their time and advice. I owe a great deal of thanks to each of them.

I was also extremely fortunate to go through graduate school with a cohort of friends much smarter than I. Stacey Bergstrom, Dale Copeland, Hein Goemans, Andrew Grant-Thomas, Atsushi Ishida, Stathis Kalyvas, Barbara Koremenos, Andy Kydd, Alicia Levine, Walter Mattli, Stu Romm, Ivan Arreguin Toft, Monica Duffy Toft, and Yael Wolinsky discussed various parts of this manuscript with me and helped formulate many of its important ideas. I will always look back at those years as a particularly stimulating time in my life.

Sammy Barkin, Rachel Bronson, Allan Castle, Bruce Cronin, Charles Glaser, Roy Licklider, Dan Lindley, John Matthews, Dan Philpott, Ken Pollack, Dani Reiter, Beth Rodgers, Don Rothchild, and Duncan Snidal offered helpful comments on all or parts of the manuscript and helped clarify my arguments. Neal Beck, Curt Signorino, Mike Tomz, and Richard Tucker answered numerous questions about research design and improved the empirical analysis in valuable ways. Paul Papayoanou walked me through the game theory and showed unending patience in answering simple questions. Page Fortna sent me a copy of her exceptional dissertation, which served as my model of how social science should be conducted. Bob Jervis and Jack Snyder will always hold a special place in my heart for taking me under their wings and serving as role models during my transition from graduate student to full-fledged academic.

The University of California at San Diego has provided the most nurturing of homes. For lunches and dinners and hallway conversations I thank Liz Gerber, Peter Gourevitch, Steph Haggard, Michael Hiscox, Miles Kahler, David Lake, Skip Lupia, Andrew McIntyre, John McMillan, Barry Naughton, Susan Shirk, Matt Shugart, and Chris Woodruff. I have grown much as a scholar from my interactions with each of them. Thanks also to Risa Brooks and Stephanie McWhorter, my excellent research assistants, and to Matt Baum who taught me more than I ever taught him. It was my good fortune to work with each of them while they were graduate students at UCSD.

This book has also benefited from the generous financial support of numerous institutions. I am most grateful to The Smith Richardson Foundation for their Junior Faculty Grant Program, which supported this work during a critical stage in its writing. The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation and the Andrew Mellon Foundation helped fund this project in its early years. The Olin Institute for Strategic Studies at Harvard University, the War and Peace Institute at Columbia University, the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation at the University of California, and UCSD’s Academic Senate also helped fund the project at various stages and provided wonderful places to work.

My family, Lynn, Rudolf, Christine, Joe, Marc, Elke, Vivian, Zoltan, and Catherine have provided many hours of fun away from the book and have helped bring balance and contentment to my life. My biggest debt, however, is to my husband, Zoltan Hajnal. Zoli read every word of every chapter and never let me doubt myself or the project. His careful hand and intelligence are present throughout the book. He is my intellectual partner, my soul mate, my most fun playmate, and the source of an extraordinarily happy marriage. Those who know him understand how supremely blessed I am to pass through life with this man. I dedicate this book to him.