Interstate Arbitrations in the Greek World 337-90 B.C.

One of the oldest book reviewer's cliches is that a book fills a gap in scholarly literature. In fact, the actual number of such 'gaps' is small and the number of books that truly 'fill them' is smaller still. Sheila Agar's superb Interstate Arbitrations in the Greek World: 337-90 B.C. is the rare book that does fill such a gap.

The routine use of interstate arbitration -- essentially a process in which states submit disputes to mutually acceptable third parties for resolution is a remarkable but little-studied aspect of Greek diplomatic history. Throughout the twentieth century, scholarly interest in Greek arbitration has fluctuated in tandem with contemporary interest in arms control and peaceful conflict resolution. So, M.N. Tod's International Arbitration amongst the Greeks (1913) -- still unfortunately the only complete study in English of the topic as a whole...