Description
Book SynopsisWe propose a sixth edition of our textbook that, since it was first published in 1987, has influenced two generations of IR scholars and practitioners. After four decades of teaching, we have learned to communicate difficult or complex ideas, concepts, and theories succinctly, and without watering down their content. Addressing the complexities of IR theory in particular, our book is written in plain language readily understood by both graduate and undergraduate audiences, as well as English-speaking and English-as-second-language (ESL) international students. Over the years, IR doctoral students—many of whom are now professors or serve in policy-related positions, have approached us at conferences to confide that they found our book helpful in preparing for their doctoral exams. We do not present “laundry lists” of IR theories one finds in other books. By contrast, we employ a framework or taxonomy of alternative images—or world views—that underlie present-day IR theory (i.e., realism, liberalism, economic structuralism, and the English School). Driven by one or another of these images, theorists also wear different interpretive lenses that profoundly influence their theorizing (positivism, feminism and those related to phenomenological understandings—post-modernism, critical theory, and constructivism). Both images and interpretive lenses have their place in our IR theory framework. This taxonomy weaves or integrates diverse and cross-cutting theoretical threads or strands into a meaningful “whole cloth” approach not found in other volumes
Trade Review“This time-tested text not only provides clear, up-to-date examinations of the main international relations perspectives, it also explains their roots. The sixth edition adds chapters on the discipline’s intellectual antecedents, covering the Romans, the Enlightenment, and more, entrenching its spot as the field’s go-to survey.” -- Michael N. Jacobs, Gordon College
“The best International relations theory text on the market. In depth, thorough, and well written…. I also like the new chapters on the historical and philosophical underpinnings in each theory/paradigm. The best edition yet.” -- Tobias Lanz, Tennessee State University
“An excellent overview of international relations. It stands out for its interpretive stance, and in linking theory to an intellectual tradition that predates IR.” -- Shiera Malik, DePaul University
“It is as close to a can’t-miss as one can get in the textbook arena.” -- Chistopher J. Fettweis, Tulane University
“It offers a good balance between history and contemporary theories, as well as between security and non-security issues.” -- John Miglietta, Tennessee State University
Table of ContentsTable of Contents— 1.Thinking About IR Theory PART ONE: Images of International Relations Theory 2.Realism: The State and Balance of Power 3.Liberalism: Interdependence and Global Governance 4.Economic Structuralism: Global Capitalism and Post-Colonialism 5.The English School: International Society and Grotian Rationalism PART TWO: Interpretive Understandings & Normative Considerations 6.Constructivist Understandings 7.Positivism, Critical Theory, and Postmodern Understandings 8.Feminist Understandings in IR Theory 9.Normative IR Theory: Ethics and Morality PART THREE: The Intellectual Roots of IR Theory 10.The Ancient Greeks 11.Greco-Roman Thought and the Middle Ages 12.The Renaissance and Modern Political Thought
