Interests And Stability Or Ideologies And Order In Contemporary World Politics

Drawing upon extensive experience of both theoretical and empirical research, according to the Italian school of Political Science, this book provides a holistic assessment of contemporary world politics. It begins by defining concepts such as “world order”, before going on to classify foreign policies into four models of political cultures: namely, the “interests-intensive” conservative; the “ideologies-intensive” liberal, the leftist constructivist, and the leftist Manichean. The volume shows how multipolar and bipolar systems have remained relatively stable, with each main power defending its own interests, yet ultimately not promoting ideas and order. Change periods, however, are instable. Between 1915 and 1945, Nazi-fascist and communist ideologies emerged, but, after Yalta, the West did not effectively export market, democracy and peace to the Third World. After 1989, the ideas of liberalism (in economic globalization and EU enlargement), neo-conservatism (in the Iraq war), and multi-cultural leftism (in pluri-national conflict resolution processes) began to be applied toward a “near” world order. Since 2001, Islamic fundamentalism’s threat has prevented both stability (with the failure of the concert of powers of the 1990s), and order (with minimal improvements in democracy and peace). Following the Arab Spring, Obama has also abandoned interests-intensive conservative diplomacy, no longer supporting “lesser evils” (personalistic or military regimes) against “absolute evils” (such as the Islamic State), and waged only “low intensity” wars in Iraq, Syria and Libya.

Forfatterens mål med denne bog er: 1) Analyse af de gældende teorier for international politik og hvad der heri er lagt størst vægt på. 2) Konstruktion af en teori for international politik som kan kan råde bod på de mangler, der er i de nu gældende. 3) Afprøvning af den rekonstruerede teori på faktiske hændelsesforløb.

Conflict among nations for forty-five years after World War II was dominated by the major bipolar struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union. With the end of the Cold War; states in differing legions of the world are taking their affairs more into their own hands and working out new arrangements for security that best suit their needs. This trend toward new &"regional orders&" is the subject of this book, which seeks both to document the emergence and strengthening of these new regional arrangements and to show how international relations theory needs to be modified to take adequate account of their salience in the world today. Rather than treat international politics as everywhere the same, or each region as unique, this hook adopts a comparative approach. It recognizes that, while regions vary widely in their characteristics, comparative analysis requires a common typology and set of causal variables. It presents theories of regional order that both generalize about regions and predict different patterns of conflict and cooperation from their individual traits. The editors conclude that, in the new world of regional orders, the quest for universal principles of foreign policy by great powers like the United States is chimerical and dangerous. Regional orders differ, and policy artist accommodate these differences if it is to succeed. Contributors are Brian L. Job, Edmund J. Keller, Yuen Foong Khong, David A. Lake, Steven E. Lobell, David R. Mares, Patrick M. Nlotgan. Paul A. Papayoanou, David J. Pervin, Philip G. Roeder, Richard Rosecrance and Peter Schott, Susan Shirk, Etel Solingen, and Arthur A. Stein.

Cassels offers a novel perspective on the part played by ideology in international relations over the past two centuries. His treatment is not restricted to the familiar totalitarian ideologies of communism and nazism, but also includes conservatism, liberalism and nationalism. The focus and emphasis given to ideology in an historical survey of such broad scope make this book unusual, and even controversial.

"A superb book.…Mearsheimer has made a significant contribution to our understanding of the behavior of great powers."—Barry R. Posen, The National Interest The updated edition of this classic treatise on the behavior of great powers takes a penetrating look at the question likely to dominate international relations in the twenty-first century: Can China rise peacefully? In clear, eloquent prose, John Mearsheimer explains why the answer is no: a rising China will seek to dominate Asia, while the United States, determined to remain the world's sole regional hegemon, will go to great lengths to prevent that from happening. The tragedy of great power politics is inescapable.

This book analyzes China's transformative political power in today's world while simultaneously addressing global issues and the reformation of world institutions. China has become known as the world's first factory and trading power, but more knowledge on China's rise is necessary to understand the world of today and the future. The main question is where China's rise is headed and how this affects the increasingly connected world that faces problems that no state can effectively address on its own. This book analyzes both sides of the coin, that is, the problems of a world scale and the change of the world political order. China is among the major actors for global issues such as mitigating climate warming, controlling weapons of mass destruction, combating economic inequality and underdevelopment, and improving health for all. In the current setting of the new world order, all countries and especially world powers develop a general blueprint for the future, as cultural and material conditions of the present world are very different from the past. Under such conditions, China faces a review of its bilateral and regional strategies, as well as its position and actions in world institutions that have the mission of forming policy responses to issues of a global scale. This book, therefore, provides insight into China's view of world problems and the future world order. It is a must-read for everybody interested in a better understanding of China's role in today's world and the global power shift.

From the oceans to continental heartlands, human activities have altered the physical characteristics of Earth's surface. With Earth's population projected to peak at 8 to 12 billion people by 2050 and the additional stress of climate change, it is more important than ever to understand how and where these changes are happening. Innovation in the geographical sciences has the potential to advance knowledge of place-based environmental change, sustainability, and the impacts of a rapidly changing economy and society. Understanding the Changing Planet outlines eleven strategic directions to focus research and leverage new technologies to harness the potential that the geographical sciences offer.

Ever since its first publication in 1992, The End of History and the Last Man has provoked controversy and debate. Francis Fukuyama's prescient analysis of religious fundamentalism, politics, scientific progress, ethical codes, and war is as essential for a world fighting fundamentalist terrorists as it was for the end of the Cold War. Now updated with a new afterword, The End of History and the Last Man is a modern classic.