Realism has been the subject of critical scrutiny for some time and this examination aims to identify and define its strengths and shortcomings, making a contribution to the study of international relations. The essays offer an analysis of the logic and history of theories in the realist family, and demonstrate the value of scholarship that looks beyond fleeting intellectual fads to the enduring themes of life in a crowded and dangerous world.

Political realism sees politics as a permanent struggle for power and security. When applied to international relations, it has sought to explain how states seek to preserve themselves in an environment characterized by anarchy and the ever-present threat of aggression. The essays in this volume examine the tradition of realist political analysis of international relations from the Sophists and Thucydides to the modern era.

Realism has been the subject of critical scrutiny for some time and this examination aims to identify and define its strengths and shortcomings, making a contribution to the study of international relations. The essays offer an analysis of the logic and history of theories in the realist family, and demonstrate the value of scholarship that looks beyond fleeting intellectual fads to the enduring themes of life in a crowded and dangerous world.

The concept of identity has gained increasing currency in international relations scholarship, but it offers too many vague and imprecise definitions of the concepts that stand at its very core. Most of this scholarship does not go beyond the mere assertion that identity is important and that somehow, in one way or another, it plays a role in how many states define and pursue their national interests. As a consequence many scholars have argued that the identity school had little to offer, and that norms and institutions offered explanations similar to those drawn from identity. This text...

The essays here address the relationship between economic interdependence and international conflict, the political economy of economic sanctions, and the role of economic incentives in international statecraft.

The concept of identity has gained increasing currency in international relations scholarship, but it offers too many vague and mimprecise definitions of the concepts that stand at its very core. Most of this scholarship does not go beyond the mere assertion that identity is important and that somehow, in one way or another, it plays a role in how many states define and pursue their national interests. As a consequence many scholars have argued that the identity school had little to offer, and that norms and institutions offered explanations similar to those drawn from identity. This text...

The essays here address the relationship between economic interdependence and international conflict, the political economy of economic sanctions, and the role of economic incentives in international statecraft.