Book excerpt: Over the last few decades there has been growing recognition of the importance of a peaceful and stable South China Sea for Indo-Pacific security and development, a recognition that has been underlain, paradoxically, by the increasingly precarious situation in this body of water that straddles critical shipping lanes from the Indian to the Pacific Ocean. This book informs its readership of the most recent developments in the South China Sea with insightful and prescient analyses from both legal and international relations perspectives. It delves into the policy perspectives and deliberations of the various relevant regional and extra-regional actors in the South China Sea dispute, the exercise of international law in the context of the changing regional political landscape, and the promise and pitfalls of past, current, and potential initiatives to manage and settle the dispute. Written by some of the most well-known scholars and knowledgeable insiders in the fields South China Sea studies, the collection offers a wide array of diverse views that should help enrich the ongoing global discussion on conflict management and resolution in the South China Sea.