Based on many years of teaching international relations courses and long-time collaboration between the authors, this major new text provides an authoritative introduction to international relations and to the long-standing questions that have engaged generations of IR scholars and students. Boxed features in each chapter help students navigate the 'levels of analysis', view the world from multiple perspectives, and 'make connections' between theory and practice, past and present, and aspirations and reality.
A major new introduction to International Relations by three of the leading figures in International Relations with reputations that extend around the world
Written to cover all that is needed on an introductory IR course and structured to enable lecturers to swap books with the minimum of disruption to their course
Deploys the 'level of analysis' framework throughout to enable students to take a theoretically rigorous approach to the subject
Numerous examples from around the world to illustrate the discussion
Four-colour design, richly illustrated with photographs, graphs and maps
Author(s): Joseph Grieco; G. John Ikenberry; Michael Mastanduno
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2015
Language: English
Pages: xxviii+503
Cover
Half title
Titlepage
Copyright page
Contents in Brief
Contents
List of Features
List of Illustrative Material
About the Authors
Preface
Online Teaching and Learning Resources
Author Acknowledgements
Copyright Acknowledgements
1 Understanding International Relations
International Relations are Part of Everyday Life
Building Blocks for the Study of International Relations
Basic Concepts for International Relations
Levels of Analysis in International Relations
Recognizing Enduring Questions
Examples of Enduring Questions
Making Connections
Connecting Theory and Practice
Connecting Past and Present
Connecting Aspiration and Reality
Viewing the World from Different Perspectives
Recognizing Great-Power Centrism
Recognizing Cleavages within the International System
Looking Ahead
I. FOUNDATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
2 The Emergence of a Global System of States, 1500–today
ENDURING QUESTION:
How did a fragmented world become a global, integrated
system of states for which order is an ongoing problem?
Starting Point: The World in 1500
The Formation of the International Political System, 1500–1900
A State System Emerges in Western Europe
European Pursuit of Foreign Empire
Why were European States Successful Imperialists?
World War I and World War II, 1900–1945
World War I: Origins, Conduct, and Aftermath
The Versailles Treaty and the League of Nations
Failed Global Reconstruction and the March to World War II, 1920–1939
War Comes Again to Europe and the World, 1939–45
The Global Struggle of the Cold War, 1945–1989
The World in 1945
Explaining the Origins of the Cold War
The Cold War as an International Order
The View from the South: Decolonization, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the Quest for a New International Economic Order
Decolonization
The Non-Aligned Movement and Third-World Pressure for a New International Economic Order
The End of the Cold War and the Collapse of the Soviet Union
Soviet Economic Reform and its Unintended Political Consequences
Reagan Made Them Do It
The Power of the People, not the Leaders
The Contemporary International Order
Revisiting the Enduring Question and Looking Ahead
3 Theories of International Relations
ENDURING QUESTION:
How do theoretical traditions in international relations
differ on how to understand actors and their behavior on
the global stage?
The Realist Tradition
Realist Assumptions
Realist Propositions
The English School of International Relations
The Liberal Tradition
Liberal Assumptions
Liberal Propositions
The Marxist Tradition
Marxist Assumptions
Marxist Propositions
The Constructivist Tradition
Constructivist Assumptions
Constructivist Propositions
The Feminist Tradition
Feminist Assumptions
Feminist Propositions
Comparing Traditions
Revisiting the Enduring Question and Looking Ahead
4 The Analysis of Foreign Policy
ENDURING QUESTION:
What factors most influence the foreign policies of states?
Foreign Policy Analysis: Connections to International Relations and Core Concepts
The Study of International Relations and the Analysis of Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy Interests
Foreign Policy Strategy
The Sources of Foreign Policy
Sources of Foreign Policy at the Individual Level of Analysis
Sources of Foreign Policy at the State Level of Analysis
Sources of Foreign Policy at the International Level of Analysis
How and Why States Change Their Foreign Policy
Sources of Foreign Policy Change at the Individual Level of Analysis
Sources of Foreign Policy Change at the State Level of Analysis
Sources of Foreign Policy Change at the International Level of Analysis
Revisiting the Enduring Question and Looking Ahead
II. WAR AND PEACE: AN INTRODUCTION TO
SECURITY STUDIES
5 War and Its Causes
ENDURING QUESTION:
Why is war a persistent feature of international relations?
Wars between Countries
Types of Military Conflicts between Countries
Incidence of International Military Conflicts
Lethality of International Wars
Immediate Causes of War
Underlying Causes of War: the Individual Level of Analysis
Misperception, Crisis Escalation, and War: the Role of Stress and ‘Motivated Biases’
Social Psychology of Small Groups: Groupthink
Personality Trait of Leaders: Over-Optimism
Underlying Causes of War: the State Level of Analysis
Domestic Economic Systems and War
Domestic Political Institutions and Governmental Processes
Underlying Causes of War: the International Level of Analysis
Anarchy as a Permissive Condition for War
Anarchy as a Propellant of International Conflict
Internal Wars and their Causes
Internal Wars and International Peace and Security
Internal Wars: Types and Trends
Causes of Internal Wars
Revisiting the Enduring Question and Looking Ahead
6 Pathways to Interstate Peace
ENDURING QUESTION:
What factors make it more likely that states will
resolve their differences and avoid war?
The International Distribution of Power as a Condition for Peace
Balance of Power
Hegemony
State Strategies for Achieving International Peace
Diplomacy
Power Balancing
International Law and Institutions as Mechanisms for Peace
Essential Features of International Law and Institutions
Three Experiences with International Law and Institutions: the League of Nations, the United Nations, and the European Union
Transnational Mechanisms for Peace
Economic Interdependence
A Possible International Community of Democratic Nations
Peace Movements and Global Civil Society
Revisiting the Enduring Question and Looking Ahead
Study Questions
Further Reading
7 Weapons of Mass Destruction
ENDURING QUESTION:
How have weapons of mass destruction, and in particular
nuclear weapons, changed the practice of international
relations?
Nuclear Weapons
The Nuclear Revolution
Assured Destruction and the Peculiar Logic of MAD
Should Governments Prepare to Fight Nuclear War?
Living with MAD: Arms Control Efforts
Does MAD Still Exist Today?
Nuclear Proliferation and Efforts to Halt it
Obtaining Nuclear Capability: Difficult But Not Impossible
Why do States Want Nuclear Weapons?
How Dangerous is Nuclear Proliferation?
Efforts to Halt Proliferation: The Grand Bargain
Chemical and Biological Weapons
How They Work and Efforts to Control Them
Comparing Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Weapons
Weapons of Mass Destruction and Terrorism
The Emergence of Cyber-Warfare
Revisiting the Enduring Question and Looking Ahead
III.WEALTH AND POWER: AN INTRODUCTION TO
INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
8 International Economics: Basic Theory and Core Institutions
ENDURING QUESTION:
How do politics shape the global economy?
Basic Elements of International Trade Theory and Policy
Building Blocks for Analysis: Consumption and Production
Comparative Advantage
The Gains from Trade
Why do Countries Protect Themselves from Trade?
Basic Elements of International Money
National Exchange-Rate Systems
Fixed Exchange-Rate Systems: Benefits and Problems
Multinational Enterprises and International Political Economy
Definition and Characteristics of Multinational Enterprises
Importance of MNEs to the World Economy
Political Issues Surrounding MNEs
The Institutions of the World Economy
International Trade: From ITO to GATT to WTO
International Finance: Why is the IMF so Controversial?
Global Governance: From the G-7 and G-8 to the G-20
Revisiting the Enduring Question and Looking Ahead
9 Power, Politics, and The World Economy
ENDURING QUESTION:
How do governments use international economic
relations to further national political objectives?
Two Great Eras of Economic Globalization
States and Markets: Three Great Traditions of Thought
Economic Liberalism
Economic Nationalism
Marxism
States and Markets in a World of Anarchy
The Two-Sided Government: Managing Domestic and International Relations
State Building, War, and Markets
Great Powers and the World Economy
Leadership and the Liberal World Economy
The Contemporary World Economy: Globalization and its Challenges
Revisiting the Enduring Question and Looking Ahead
10 Dilemmas of Development
ENDURING QUESTION:
How does participation in the world economy help or
hinder the economic development of poorer countries?
What and Where Are the Developing Countries?
What is Economic Development?
Growth Experiences of Different Groups of Developing Countries
International Relations and Challenges to Developing Countries
Failure to Develop: A Legacy of Colonialism?
Difficulties in Development
Is International Trade a Path to Development?
Developing Countries and Market-Controlling Trade Strategies
Developing Countries and Market-Accepting Trade Strategies
Is International Finance a Path to Development?
International Financial Flows: Meaning, Types, and Magnitudes
Financial Flows: Opportunities and Challenges for Developing Countries
Development Strategies and Emerging Great Powers – the BRICS
China
India
Brazil
Russia
South Africa
Revisiting the Enduring Question and Looking Ahead
IV. CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES AND THE
FUTURE OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
11 Non-state Actors and Challenges to Sovereignty
ENDURING QUESTION:
Can the State Continue to Overcome Challenges to its
Authority?
States, Sovereignty, and the Westphalian System
Challenges to Sovereign States
Piracy
Weak/Failed States
Terrorism
Technology and the Privatization of War
International Responses to Non-State Actors
Global Response to Failed States
Whither the State?
Revisiting the Enduring Question and Looking Ahead
12 The Environment and International Relations
ENDURING QUESTION:
How does the natural environment influence
international relations?
Sources of Problems for the Global Environment and Natural Resources
Negative Externalities
The Tragedy of the Commons
Challenges for the World’s Environment and Natural Resources
Problems with the Atmosphere
Damage to the World’s Water Resources
Damage to the Land
Management of International Environmental Problems
Unilateral Responses
Bilateral Efforts
Multilateral Approaches
Revisiting the Enduring Question and Looking Ahead
13 Facing the Future: Six Visions of an Emerging International Order
ENDURING QUESTION:
Will the international system undergo fundamental change in
the future?
Model 1: A World of Geo-Economic Competition
Characteristics of Geo-Economic Competition
International Trends
Contrary Evidence and Questions
Model 2: A Return to Multipolarity
Characteristics of Multipolarity
International Trends
Contrary Evidence and Questions
Model 3: A New Bipolarity
Characteristics of a New Bipolarity
International Trends
Contrary Evidence and Questions
Model 4: A Democratic Peace
Characteristics of Democratic Peace
International Trends
Contrary Evidence and Questions
Model 5: A Clash of Civilizations
Characteristics of a Clash of Civilizations
International Trends
Contrary Evidence and Questions
Model 6: Global Fracture: Pre-Modern, Modern, and Post-Modern Zones
Characteristics of Global Fracture
International Trends
Contrary Evidence and Questions
Looking Back: A Reminder to Focus on Enduring Questions
Glossary
References
Index
