Spatial Econometric Analysis of International Conflict

One of the major contributions of Walter Isard to the modern social sciences undoubtedly lies in his emphasis on the importance of space as an organising construct. This goes back to his innovative neoclassical micro-economic theory of location (Isard [17]) which can be considered as the point of departure in the growth of the discipline of regional science. More recently, his work has emphasised general systems theory and the notion of policy spaces (Isard, [18]) and evolved to an outline for the new field of peace science as the possible ‘queen of social sciences’ (Isard, [19], and Isard and Smith, [23]).