Realism In International Relations And International Political Economy

Stefano Guzzini's study offers an understanding of the evolution of the realist tradition within International Relations and International Political Economy. It sees the realist tradition not as a school of thought with a static set of fixed principles, but as a repeatedly failed attempt to turn the rules of European diplomacy into the laws of a US social science. Realism in International Relations and International Political Economy concentrates on the evolution of a leading school of thought, its critiques and its institutional environment. As such it will provide an invaluable basis to anyone studying international relations theory.

Guzzini takes a fresh look at the development of realism in International Relations both in terms of external movement in international affairs and the paradigmatic alterations which have taken place within the intellectual discourse itself.

Guzzini takes a fresh look at the development of realism in International Relations both in terms of external movement in international affairs and the paradigmatic alterations which have taken place within the intellectual discourse itself.

Stefano Guzzini's study offers an understanding of the evolution of the realist tradition within International Relations and International Political Economy. It sees the realist tradition not as a school of thought with a static set of fixed principles, but as a repeatedly failed attempt to turn the rules of European diplomacy into the laws of a US social science. Realism in International Relations and International Political Economy concentrates on the evolution of a leading school of thought, its critiques and its institutional environment. As such it will provide an invaluable basis to anyone studying international relations theory.

The author looks at the development of realism in international relations both in terms of external movement in international affairs and the paradigmatic alterations which have taken place within the intellectual discourse itself.

International Relations emerged as a distinct academic discipline in the early twentieth century, but its philosophic foundations draw on centuries of thinking about human nature, power and authority, justice and injustice, and their implications for relations within and between political communities. In this fully revised and updated third edition of her popular text, Stephanie Lawson retains a broad historical and contextual approach in introducing readers to the central themes and theoretical perspectives in IR while also addressing key issues and challenges in the contemporary period. These include the emergence of states and empires, theories ranging from classical realism and liberalism to postcolonial and ‘green’ theory, twentieth-century international history, security and insecurity, global governance and world order, international political economy, globalization, the future of the sovereign state and the prospects for a ‘post-international’ world. Written in an accessible narrative style, this book is an ideal primer for students at undergraduate level and beyond, including those undertaking postgraduate study in IR with little or no previous academic training in the field.

This book examines traditional balance of power theory from a political-economic perspective, using historical examples, to draw out distinctions between the liberal and realist approach and how this affects grand strategy. The realist view of the balance of power theory includes implicit assumptions that economic assets can be turned quickly into power, and that states always respond to threats quickly and only with a view to the 'short-run'. These assumptions drive many of the expectations generated from traditional balance-of-power theory, discouraging realists from looking at domestic sources of power, which in turn undermined their ability to frame strategic decisions properly. By thinking about how power must be managed over time, however, we can model the choices policy-makers confront when determining expenditures on defense, while keeping an eye on the impact of those costs on the economy. By emphasizing the role of the state, identifying different causal patterns in domestic politics, and demonstrating the importance of systemic competition, this book aims to establish why a neo-classical realist approach is not only different from a liberal approach, but also superior when addressing questions on grand strategy. This book will be of much interest to students of security studies, international political economy, grand strategy and IR theory in general. Mark R. Brawley is Professor of Political Science at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. He is author of several books on International Relations, specialising in the connections between political economic issues and security.

Critical and scientific realism have emerged as important perspectives on international relations in recent years. The attraction of these approaches lies in the claim that they can transcend the positivism vs postpositivism divide. This book demonstrates the vitality of this approach and the difference that 'realism' makes.