Part 1: Theories of International Relations
Chapter 1: International Relations theory in an age of critical diversity
Introduction
The necessity of theory
Ontology, epistemology, and the science question in International Relations theory
Mainstream International Relations theory
The era of critical diversity
Conclusion
Discussion questions
Further reading
Chapter 2: Liberalism
Introduction
Liberalism
The historical-political context
Contemporary liberal International Relations theory
Questioning contemporary liberal International Relations theory
Conclusion
Discussion questions
Further reading
Chapter 3: Realism
Introduction
Who are the realists? Genesis of a tradition of thought
What is realism? Synthesising theory and practice
Conclusion
Discussion questions
Further reading
Chapter 4: Marxism and critical theory
Introduction
Historical and intellectual context: Marx and the critique of capitalism
Marxism as historical materialism
Marx and Marxism in International Relations
Critical theories of International Relations
Conclusion
Discussion questions
Further reading
Chapter 5: Feminism
Introduction
Feminist interventions into international relations
The feminist International Relations agenda
Challenging the masculine bias in International Relations
Where are the women?
Reconstructing international relations: Examining the differences between sex and gender
J. Ann Tickner: Progress towards gender equality in the academy and the policy world
From women to gender
Feminist theories of international relations
Conclusion: What does feminism add to our study of international relations?
Discussion questions
Further reading
Chapter 6: Postmodernism
Introduction
Postmodernity as a new historical period
Postmodernism as a critical way of understanding modernity
The emergence of the third debate in IR scholarship
Polemical critiques and the legacy of postmodernism
Conclusion
Discussion questions
Further reading
Chapter 7: Constructivism
Introduction
What does constructivism do? Identity and international institutions
Neta C. Crawford: Norms and violence
Constructivism’s understanding of change in the international system
Conclusion
Discussion questions
Further reading
Chapter 8: Theories of global justice
Introduction
Justice and international relations
Why justice is global
What is a just global order?
Peter Singer: Global ethics
Global justice in practice
Cosmopolitan democracy
Baogang He: An Asian conception of global justice?
Conclusion
Discussion questions
Further reading
Part 2: International history
Chapter 9: From the Great War to World War II
Introduction
International history and the study of International Relations
After World War I: The Paris Peace Conference
The League of Nations
The Soviet Union in International Relations
The United States and international order
The Great Depression
Asia’s rise
Hitler’s world
Appeasement and the path to war
Conclusion: Reflections on the ‘great’ inter-war era
Discussion questions
Further reading
Chapter 10: The Cold War and after
Introduction
The beginnings of the Cold War, 1945–53
The Cold War spreads, 1953–69
Détente and the ‘second’ Cold War, 1969–85
The end of the Cold War, 1985–91
The Cold War and International Relations
Conclusion: The continuing legacy of the Cold War
Discussion questions
Further reading
Part 3: The traditional agenda: States, war and law
Chapter 11: The modern state
Introduction
What is a state?
Origins of the modern state
The idea of the sovereign state
The triumph of the sovereign state: State-building as war-making
Whither the sovereign state?
Conclusion
Discussion questions
Further reading
Chapter 12: Nations and nationalism
Introduction
Terminological debates
How nationalism shaped modern states and international society
Understanding nations and nationalism in International Relations
New nationalisms in contemporary world politics
Conclusion
Discussion questions
Further reading
Chapter 13: Security
Introduction
Security and insecurity in the early twenty-first century
Defining security
Key theories and concepts
Conclusion
Discussion questions
Further reading
Chapter 14: Arms control
Introduction
What is arms control?
Why do states engage in arms-control practices?
Cold War arms control
Why is arms control still important?
New initiatives in arms control: Conventional weapons
Arms control and International Relations theory
Nuclear weapons: A special case?
The Humanitarian Initiative and a treaty banning nuclear weapons
Conclusion
Discussion questions
Further reading
Chapter 15: The causes of war
Introduction
The causes of war and International Relations
The causes of war: Questions and answers
Conclusion
Discussion questions
Further reading
Chapter 16: The changing character of warfare
Introduction
The diversity of warfare
Sebastian Kaempf: Digital battlespaces and virtual media wars
War as violence
War as organised violence
War and politics
War as a case of ‘between’
War as large scale
Megan Mackenzie: Women in combat: The role of gender bias and myth in security policy
Conclusion
Discussion questions
Further reading
Chapter 17: The ethics and laws of war
Introduction
When is it right to fight (jus ad bellum)?
How should war be waged (jus in bello)?
Jus ad bellum dilemma: Pre-emptive self-defence
Jus in bello dilemma: Suicide car bombs
Conclusion
Discussion questions
Further reading
Chapter 18: International law
Introduction
What is international law?
Sources of international law
Debates about international law
Contemporary examples of international law
Conclusion
Discussion questions
Further reading
Chapter 19: The globalisation of international society
Introduction
International society and its expansion: Insights from the English School of International Relations
Mary Graham and Morgan Brigg: Indigeneity and IR
The expansion of international society
The English School’s rosy vision of the expansion of international society
The expansion of international society: An unfinished project?
Conclusion
Discussion questions
Further reading
Chapter 20: Diplomacy
Introduction
Defining diplomacy: What is diplomacy and who are the diplomats?
The evolution of diplomacy
Trends
Diplomacy and the study of International Relations
Conclusion
Discussion questions
Further reading
Chapter 21: Great powers
Introduction
What is a great power?
The great powers in historical perspective
The great powers in the theory of International Relations
Tom Chodor: Rising powers and transformations in the international order
The great powers after the Cold War
Andrew Phillips: Great power rivalry and the return of power politics in Asia
Conclusion
Discussion questions
Further reading
Part 4: The new agenda: Globalisation and global governance
Chapter 22: The United Nations
Introduction
The United Nations in the Charter
The principal organs of the United Nations
The United Nations as actor, forum, and resource
Conclusion
Discussion questions
Further reading
Chapter 23: Non-state actors: Multinational corporations and international non-governmental organisations
Introduction
Multinational corporations: Transnationalised material power
International non-governmental organisations: Transnationalised normative power
Conclusion
Discussion questions
Further reading
Chapter 24: Religion and secularism
Introduction
Religion and International Relations
History of a concept: Secularism
Secularism and world politics
The politics of secularism in the Middle East and North Africa
Conclusion
Discussion questions
Further reading
Chapter 25: Global economic institutions
Introduction
Global governance and the global economy
Perspectives on global economic institutions
Global economic institutions and the management of the global economy
The global economic institutions and contemporary challenges
Conclusion
Discussion questions
Further reading
Chapter 26: Global trade and finance
Introduction
Who is afraid of the global economic system?
The rise and fall of the Bretton Woods system, 1946–71
Domestic stagflation, international over-lending and international competitiveness, 1972–81
Debt crises at home and abroad, 1982–92
Talking about architecture, 1993–2004
Promises, promises: Credit booms and liquidity busts, 2004–16
Conclusion: Crisis, cooperation and the re-emergence of economic nationalism
Discussion questions
Further reading
Chapter 27: Global poverty, inequality and development
Introduction
Global poverty and inequality in development
A relational approach to global poverty, inequality, and development
From the Millennium Development Goals to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals
Conclusion
Discussion questions
Further reading
Chapter 28: Globalisation and its critics
Introduction
Understanding globalisation
Anti-capitalist politics
Scholarly critiques of globalisation
Conclusion
Discussion questions
Further reading
Chapter 29: Terrorism
Introduction
When and why did this issue become important to the study of International Relations?
What are the major issues and debates in the study of terrorism?
What are the most useful concepts for understanding and analysing this topic?
What is at stake in this issue? Why and to whom does it matter?
Conclusion
Discussion questions
Further reading
Chapter 30: Post-conflict state-building
Introduction
The rise of post-conflict state-building
The post-conflict state-building agenda
The politics of post-conflict state-building
Critics of the current agenda
Impacts of post-conflict state-building
The future of post-conflict state-building
Nicole George: Women, peace, and security in the Pacific Islands
Conclusion
Discussion questions
Further reading
Chapter 31: Humanitarianism and armed intervention
Introduction
The origins of humanitarianism
A short history of humanitarian intervention
The responsibility to protect
Noel Morada: Responsibility to protect (R2P) and the prevention of mass atrocities
Conclusion
Discussion questions
Further reading
Chapter 32: Human rights
Introduction
The historical development of an idea
The human rights idea today
The politics of liberal universalism
The future of human rights
Conclusion
Discussion questions
Further reading
Chapter 33: Migration and refugees
Introduction
States, refugees, and immigrants
Controlling migration: A brief history
The origins and purposes of refugee law
The distribution of refugees around the world
The present situation
Conclusion
