Realpolitik

Now most often associated with the conduct of foreign policy, Realpolitik has traditionally had pejorative connotations in the English-speaking world and sits uneasily alongside notions of "enlightenment," "morality" and "virtue." But it has also had its defenders, admirers and exponents, who regard it as the best tool for the successful wielding of political power and the preservation of global order. As such, Realpolitik has both successes and failures to its name, as Bew's comprehensive and even-handed overview displays. Bew begins by charting the evolution of the idea through the work of important thinkers or statesmen from Machiavelli, Cardinal de Richelieu, and Thomas Hobbes up through Carl Schmitt, Kissinger, and Dennis Ross.

A critical history of the sociologies of conflict of Lester Ward, Albion Small, Robert Park, and Arthur Bentley all of whom fell under the influence of German sociologists who explicitly approached the study of conflict from the perspective of realpolitik.

"The author explores four themes relating to international relations in the modern era: Reasons of State, the Balance of Power, the Balance of Trade, and Geopolitics. He contrasts realist ideas with universalist alternatives, both religious and secular, which were based on a more optimistic view of the nature of man or the nature of society. Realist thought never attained consistent predominance, Haslam demonstrates, and the struggle with universalist thought has remained an unresolved tension that can be traced throughout the evolution of international relations theory in the twentieth century."--BOOK JACKET.

Presents research on the Indonesian military (TNI) going beyond traditional scholarship on the TNI's dual function or dwifungsi which has been one of the dominating fields of analysis in Indonesian studies since the 1970s.

The Realpolitik of Evaluation shines a light on the divergent demands for evaluation. But what explains the "gap" between what those on the "demand" side expect in terms of evaluation results, and the "supply" of information provided by evaluators? Can anything be done to narrow this gap? What works and what does not work? Examining these questions from both the demand and the supply side, experts describe ten different global examples of the gap between demand and supply of evaluation information in different contexts. In an attempt to bridge that gap, they effectively reveal the biases behind supposedly sources of evaluation information and highlight the pros and cons of attempts to bridge the gap through the use of third parties, enhanced stakeholder involvement, and the incorporation of social science models to strengthen Theories of Change (ToC). The Realpolitik of Evaluation is an important book that poses questions at multiple levels of thinking. It will be of great interest to policymakers, program implementers, and project managers.

An empirically based critique of realism

The 1954 Conference on Theory, sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation, featured a 'who's who' of scholars and practitioners debating what would become the foundations of international relations theory. Assembling his own team of experts, the editor revisits a seminal event in the discipline.

Herman Cohen draws on both the documentary record and his years of on-the-ground experience to provide a uniquely comprehensive survey and interpretation of nearly eight decades of US policy toward Africa. Tracing how this policy has evolved across successive administrations since 1942 (beginning with President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third term in office), Cohen illuminates the debates that have taken place at the highest levels of government; shows how policy toward Africa has been affected over the years by US relations with Europe, the Soviet Union, the Middle East, and most recently China; and points to the increasing reliance of Western economic interests on Africa's natural resources. His deeply informed narrative reveals the roles not only of circumstance and ideology, but also of personalities, in the formulation and implementation of US foreign policy.