International Relations A European Perspective

Existing textbooks on international relations treat history in a cursory fashion and perpetuate a Euro-centric perspective. This textbook pioneers a new approach by historicizing the material traditionally taught in International Relations courses, and by explicitly focusing on non-European cases, debates and issues. The volume is divided into three parts. The first part focuses on the international systems that traditionally existed in Europe, East Asia, pre-Columbian Central and South America, Africa and Polynesia. The second part discusses the ways in which these international systems were brought into contact with each other through the agency of Mongols in Central Asia, Arabs in the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean, Indic and Sinic societies in South East Asia, and the Europeans through their travels and colonial expansion. The concluding section concerns contemporary issues: the processes of decolonization, neo-colonialism and globalization – and their consequences on contemporary society. History of International Relations provides a unique textbook for undergraduate and graduate students of international relations, and anybody interested in international relations theory, history, and contemporary politics.

International Relations: A European Perspective presents the main schools of international relations while underlining the added value of the European approach. Contrary to US or East Asian perspectives, a European viewpoint adopts a critical approach to traditional cleavages. The author demonstrates the added value of a European approach to international relations, taking into account both the shortcomings and achievements found within European history and current European unity. Key themes include: the evolution of state sovereignty, regional cooperation between previous enemies, political impact of economic integration, regimes building, international rule setting, institutionalization of international relations, and the weight of ideas and perceptions by transnational cooperation. This comprehensive assessment takes into consideration every school of international relations critically presented from this original perspective and as such makes the book ideal for courses on international relations.

A new and illuminating critical examination of international relations in Europe. This new volume presents all of the state of the art thinking, focusing particularly on international relations theory and theoretical debates in Western and Central European countries. The contributors seek to strengthen knowledge about different ways of cultivating the discipline; to intensify pan-European communication concerning IR theory; to contribute to improving the quality of theorizing; and finally to consider future directions for the discipline in Europe. The main issues addressed include: the historical development of the discipline; factors driving IR theorizing; the institutional and cultural context of theorizing; 'homegrown' theory-building vs. theory import; patterns of traditional and new discourse; and the diversity of disciplinary traditions.

"Existing textbooks on international relations treat history in a cursory fashion and perpetuate a Euro-centric perspective. This textbook pioneers a new approach by historicizing the material traditionally taught in International Relations courses, and by explicitly focusing on non-European cases, debates and issues. The volume is divided into three parts. The first part focuses on the international systems that traditionally existed in Europe, East Asia, pre-Columbian Central and South America, Africa and Polynesia. The second part discusses the ways in which these international systems were brought into contact with each other through the agency of Mongols in Central Asia, Arabs in the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean, Indic and Sinic societies in South East Asia, and the Europeans through their travels and colonial expansion. The concluding section concerns contemporary issues: the processes of decolonization, neo-colonialism and globalization - and their consequences on contemporary society. History of International Relations provides a unique textbook for undergraduate and graduate students of international relations, and anybody interested in international relations theory, history, and contemporary politics."--Publisher's website.

Existing textbooks on international relations treat history in a cursory fashion and perpetuate a Euro-centric perspective. This textbook pioneers a new approach by historicizing the material traditionally taught in International Relations courses, and by explicitly focusing on non-European cases, debates and issues.The volume is divided into three parts. The first part focuses on the international systems that traditionally existed in Europe, East Asia, pre-Columbian Central and South America, Africa and Polynesia. The second part discusses the ways in which these international systems were brought into contact with each other through the agency of Mongols in Central Asia, Arabs in the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean, Indic and Sinic societies in South East Asia, and the Europeans through their travels and colonial expansion. The concluding section concerns contemporary issues: the processes of decolonization, neo-colonialism and globalization - and their consequences on contemporary society.History of International Relations provides a unique textbook for undergraduate and graduate students of international relations, and anybody interested in international relations theory, history, and contemporary politics. This work was published by Saint Philip Street Press pursuant to a Creative Commons license permitting commercial use. All rights not granted by the work's license are retained by the author or authors.

Jorg Friedrich presents an important new introduction to the existence and relevance of European approaches to IR theory and sets an agenda for the progressive development of a 'Eurodiscipline' of IR studies.

The European Union's foreign policy and its international role are increasingly being contested both globally and at home. At the global level, a growing number of states are now challenging the Western-led liberal order defended by the EU. Large as well as smaller states are vying for more leeway to act out their own communitarian principles on and approaches to sovereignty, security and economic development. At the European level, a similar battle has begun over principles, values and institutions. The most vocal critics have been anti-globalization movements, developmental NGOs, and populist political parties at both extremes of the left-right political spectrum. This book, based on ten case studies, explores some of the most important current challenges to EU foreign policy norms, whether at the global, glocal or intra-EU level. The case studies cover contestation of the EU's fundamental norms, organizing principles and standardized procedures in relation to the abolition of the death penalty, climate, Responsibility to Protect, peacebuilding, natural resource governance, the International Criminal Court, lethal autonomous weapons systems, trade, the security-development nexus and the use of consensus on foreign policy matters in the European Parliament. The book also theorizes the current norm contestation in terms of the extent to, and conditions under which, the EU foreign policy is being put to the test.

`Like early mariners, politicians and officials trying to navigate European foreign policy find themselves in an environment of unpredictable hazards - hidden institutional shoals, and legal reefs that can tear the bottom out of a policy. This insightful collection of contrasted studies shines the twin beams of political science and legal analysis into these opaque depths. Practitioners as well as scholars will benefit from the illumination.' - Nick Witney, European Council on Foreign Relations and Former Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency, UK `This collection on EU foreign policy is an attractive one for several reasons: it contains a very nice set of essays on a topic which has loomed large on the European Union agenda for some years, namely the international role of the EU. The chapters are written by a range of interesting and eminent scholars in the field. Most importantly in terms of its distinctive contribution, the book brings together perspectives from law and from political science. This is done in part by including chapters by authors from different disciplines but also by choosing cross-pillar themes and topics such as the European Neighbourhood Policy, EU policy on Kosovo, security and defence policy, as well as more general cross-cutting themes like the idea of "coherence", the position of the EU within international organizations, and the approach of the EU to the international legal order. Each of the individual chapters is well worth reading, and the book as a whole is a useful and interesting contribution to the existing literature.' - Gráinne de Búrca, Harvard Law School, US Written by leading experts, this book focuses on central issues of the foreign policy of the European Union. The issues explored include: * how the EU's judges understand its relationship with the international order; * the coherence of the Union's external action; * the EU's approach to its neighbours; * the Common Security and Defence Policy; and, * the EU's participation in international organisations. By addressing each topic from a legal, political science and international relations standpoint, this relevant book highlights the different perspectives that these disciplines bring to the central issues of the EU's foreign affairs, and starts a conversation between the respective communities. Scholars and students in European and international law, politics, and international relations will find this book insightful. It will also prove timely for policy-makers in the EU and international organisations, as well as think tanks and non-governmental organisations specialising in European affairs.