International Relations
Even though states seek to maximize their own share of power, they have always at least paid lip-service to some form of world order or the other. Much has been written about how best to maintain international order. Much has also been written about how various states, or groupings of states, can achieve more power relative to other states. The hopes for world peace have ebbed and flowed with the coming and going of governments and ideologies, and thinking about world politics has changed in response. In this section, we list landmarks in the evolution of thinking about international relations, from Kant and Clausewitz through Carr, Morgenthau, and Waltz, to Chomsky, Kissinger, and Fukuyama. The list is arranged alphabetically by author.
The Twenty Years' Crisis, 1919–1939: An Introduction to the Study of International Relations (2nd ed) EH Carr London: Macmillan, 1962 (first published 1939) A realist work critical of liberals' utopian view of world order, which Carr believes would lead states to disaster. Advocates accepting and adapting to existing forces. World Orders Old and New Noam Chomsky New York: Columbia University Press, 1994 A fact-filled tour of this century explaining how world order has come to be accepted as Western domination and Third World service. On War Karl von Clausewitz, trans: Michael Howard and Peter Paret Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1976 The 19th century military strategist held that war is a continuation of politics by other means. States may cooperate, but they have conflicting interests, and war is an acceptable instrument of statecraft. The End of History and the Last Man Francis Fukuyama New York: Free Press, 1992 Written soon after the Soviet Union collapsed, Fukuyama argues that the end of the Cold War has ushered in a period in which liberal democracy is the only viable form of government left. Empire Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2000 Contends that the political order being laid by globalization is in line with a concept of empire as a universal order that accepts no limits. The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order Samuel P Huntington London: Simon & Schuster, 1997 Argues that clashes between civilizations are the greatest threat to world peace. Proposes an international order based on multiple civilizations (rather than on a universal civilization, as understood in ideas such as Conrad’s the “white man’s burden”). Diplomacy Henry Kissinger London: Simon & Schuster, 1994 Describes the patterns in international relations in the 20th century since American thinking on the subject met European diplomatic tradition in 1919 after World War I. Great historical sweep, characterizations, and story-telling. Politics Among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace Hans Morgenthau New York: Knopf, 1973 (first published 1948) Morgenthau argues that: (i) states strive to gain power because they have an innate desire for power, and (ii) that a multipolar world is more stable than a bipolar world. Theory of International Politics Kenneth Waltz Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1979 An influential realist work ever since its publication, its central idea is that the international system forces states to pursue power in order to increase their chances of survival. |
