A history of International Relations theory: Second edition / Edition 2

by Torbjorn Knutsen

Overview

Torbjørn L. Knutsen introduces ideas on international relations expressed by thinkers from High Middle Ages to the present day and traces the development of four ever-present themes: war, peace, wealth and power. The book counters the view that international relations has no theoretical tradition and shows that scholars, soldiers and statesmen have been speculating about the subject for the last 700 years.

Beginning with the roots of the state and the concept of sovereignty in the Middle Ages, the author draws upon the insights of outstanding political thinkers – from Machiavelli and Hobbes to Hegel, Rousseau, and Marx and contemporary thinkers such as Woodrow Wilson, Lenin, Morgenthau and Walt – who profoundly influenced the emergence of a discrete discipline of international relations in the twentieth century. Fully revised and updated, the final section embraces more recent approaches to the study of international relations, most notably postmodernism and ecologism.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780719049309
Publisher:	Manchester University Press
Publication date:	03/06/1997
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x (d)

About the Author

Torbjørn L. Knutsen is a Lecturer at the Department of Sociology and Political Science, University of Trondheim

Table of Contents

Maps figures and tables
Acknowledgements
Introduction: Why a history of International Relations theory
1. Gods, sinners and the origins of IR theory
2. The roots of the modern
3.Guns, ships and printing presses
4. Absolutist politics
5. Enlightenment politics
6. Ideological politics
7. Intermezzo: becoming contemporary
8. Interwar politics
9. Cold War politics
10. Rembrances of things past - and future
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Overviews past world orders to obtain a greater perspective on and more knowledge of international politics, and seeks to shed light on the cold war and the recent transition to a post-cold war world. Covers the four waves of great wars as defined by Mowat<-->the Italian wars, the Thirty Years War, the wars of Louis XIV, and the Napoleonic Wars<-->as well as the two World Wars of the 20th century. Looks at the moral influence which pre-eminent states in world orders exert on other great powers as a factor in their authority, as well as their military force and internal political consensus. Distributed by St. Martin's Press. Paper edition (4058-2), $24.95. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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