GLA 3213: Theories of International Relations (Mathur)

This volumes engages with the 'Global(izing) International Relations' debate, which is marked by the emerging tensions between the steadily increasing diversity and persisting dividing lines in today's International Relations (IR) scholarship. Its international cast of scholars draw together a diverse set of theoretical and methodological approaches, and a multitude of case studies focusing on IR scholarship in African and Muslim thought, as well as in countries such as China, Iran, Australia, Russia and Southeast Asian and Latin American regions. The following questions underpin this study: how is IR practiced beyond the West, and which theoretical alternatives are there for Western IR concepts? Fundamentally, what divides today's IR scholarship in light of its geo-epistemological diversity? This volume identifies shortcomings in the existing debate and offers new pathways for future research.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, the concept of power has not always been central to international relations theory. During the 1920s and 30s, power was often ignored or vilified by international relations scholars--especially in America. Power and International Relations explores how this changed in later decades by tracing how power emerged as an important social science concept in American scholarship after World War I. Combining intellectual history and conceptual analysis, David Baldwin examines power's increased presence in the study of international relations and looks at how the three dominant approaches of realism, neoliberalism, and constructivism treat power. The clarity and precision of thinking about power increased greatly during the last half of the twentieth century, due to efforts by political scientists, psychologists, sociologists, economists, philosophers, mathematicians, and geographers who contributed to "social power literature." Baldwin brings the insights of this literature to bear on the three principal theoretical traditions in international relations theory. He discusses controversial issues in power analysis, and shows the relevance of older works frequently underappreciated today. Focusing on the social power perspective in international relations, this book sheds light on how power has been considered during the last half century and how it should be approached in future research.

A foundational analysis of the co-evolution of the internet and international relations, examining resultant challenges for individuals, organizations, firms, and states. In our increasingly digital world, data flows define the international landscape as much as the flow of materials and people. How is cyberspace shaping international relations, and how are international relations shaping cyberspace? In this book, Nazli Choucri and David D. Clark offer a foundational analysis of the co-evolution of cyberspace (with the internet as its core) and international relations, examining resultant challenges for individuals, organizations, and states. The authors examine the pervasiveness of power and politics in the digital realm, finding that the internet is evolving much faster than the tools for regulating it. This creates a "co-evolution dilemma"--a new reality in which digital interactions have enabled weaker actors to influence or threaten stronger actors, including the traditional state powers. Choucri and Clark develop a new method for addressing control in the internet age, "control point analysis," and apply it to a variety of situations, including major actors in the international and digital realms: the United States, China, and Google. In doing so they lay the groundwork for a new international relations theory that reflects the reality in which we live--one in which the international and digital realms are inextricably linked and evolving together.

The new edition of this classic history of International Relations has been completely revised and updated throughout and remains a major guide to the intellectual lineage and development of the field. In International Relations Then and Now the authors examine the historical antecedents and the emergence of theories of the state system during the 18th and 19th centuries culminating in the short-lived League of Nations. They look at the foundation of International Relations as an academic discipline and the competing theories that emerged within it. In an entirely new part to this volume, they also consider contemporary developments within the theories and methodologies of International Relations, including feminism and postcolonialism. International Relations Then and Now is an indispensable text for students and scholars interested in the history of the development of International Relations.