Maja Zehfuss critiques constructivist theories of international relations (currently considered to be at the cutting edge of the discipline) and finds them wanting and even politically dangerous. Zehfuss uses Germany's first shift toward using its military abroad after the end of the Cold War to illustrate why constructivism does not work and how it leads to particular analytical outcomes and forecloses others. She argues that scholars are limiting their abilities to act responsibly in international relations by looking towards constructivism as the future.

With the unrelenting unrest in places such as Iraq, Afghanistan and the Sudan, the plight of refugees has become an increasingly discussed topic in international relations. Why do we have refugees? When did the refugee 'problem' emerge? How can the refugee ever be reconciled with an international system that rests on sovereignty? Looking at three key periods - the inter-war period, the Cold War and the present day - Emma Haddad demonstrates how a specific image has defined the refugee since the international states system arose in its modern form and that refugees have thus been qualitatively...

The emergence of private authority is now a feature of the post-Cold War world. The contributors to this volume examine the implications of the erosion of the state's power in global governance. They analyze financial institutions, multinational corporations, religious terrorists and organized crime operations. Relating directly to debates concerning globalization and the role of international law, this study is of interest to scholars and students of international relations, politics, sociology and law.

It is generally argued that globalization has seriously limited the state's capacity to govern domestically. This book questions the thesis that the state's role in promoting social protection and wealth creation has been restricted. Covering a range of areas of state activity and political issues in developing and developed countries, the contributors explore the impact of global interdependence. They argue that globalization can enable as well as constrain, and that the effects will depend on the character of a country's domestic institutions.

The Wealth of States is the first sustained analysis of the overlap between historical sociology and international relations. Through a detailed examination of nineteenth century trade regimes, and the Great Powers' efforts to increase their military capabilities, the author reveals the importance of the state as an autonomous actor in international politics and economics, which is not dependent upon dominant economic classes. The book thus represents a distinctive approach that goes beyond the existing paradigms of Marxism, liberalism and realism.

The agent-structure problem is a much discussed issue in the field of international relations. In his comprehensive 2006 analysis of this problem, Colin Wight deconstructs the accounts of structure and agency embedded within differing IR theories and, on the basis of this analysis, explores the implications of ontology - the metaphysical study of existence and reality. Wight argues that there are many gaps in IR theory that can only be understood by focusing on the ontological differences that construct the theoretical landscape. By integrating the treatment of the agent-structure problem in...

This history of the Strategic Defense Initiative shows how political, economic, strategic and cultural factors have interacted to shape SDI.

This book provides an historical account of one of the key weapons developments of the nuclear age.

Uncertainty is the watchword of contemporary world politics. Monumental changes are occurring throughout the international system and statespeople are wrestling with peaceful solutions to them. In this book, Charles Doran proposes a managed solution to peaceful change. He presents a bold, original and wide-ranging analysis of the present balance of power, of future prospects for the international political system and of the problems involved in this transformation. Professor Doran demonstrates why such change has often been accompanied by world war and provides new insights into the causes of...

In this study Dr Suganami discusses the role the domestic analogy has played in proposals about world order, peace, justice and welfare in the period since 1814.