Sunday, December 6, 2009

Nationalism Reframed or Essentials of International Relations

Nationalism Reframed: Nationhood and the National Question Reframed in the New Europe

Author: Rogers Brubaker

Nationalism Reframed is a theoretically and historically informed study of nationalism in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Rogers Brubaker develops an original account of the interlocking and opposed nationalisms of national minorities, the nationalizing states in which they live, and the external national homelands to which they are linked by external ties. He then analyzes contemporary nationalisms in historical and comparative perspective, tracing the parallels between the Eastern European nationalisms of today and those of the interwar period.



New interesting book: You Sexy Thing or Evolving Health

Essentials of International Relations

Author: Karen A Mingst

Essentials of International Relations, available in a Third Edition, is widely recognized for its concise, lucid coverage of the fundamental topics of international political theory. Taking a balanced view of major theoretical approaches to international politics-including liberalism and realism, as well as Marxism, feminism, and constructivism-Professor Mingst provides the analytical tools students need to understand world political affairs at the individual, state, and international system levels. The Third Edition has been thoroughly updated and revised to reflect recent global developments, and its brief format affords instructors the flexibility of customizing their curriculum using supplementary readings from the Norton Series in World Politics or other books. Concise but comprehensive, sophisticated yet accessible, Essentials of International Relations remains the premier-and most affordable-brief text in this dynamic field.



Table of Contents:
List of Mapsxi
Prefacexiii
1Approaches to International Relations
International Relations in Daily Life1
Thinking Theoretically3
Developing the Answers4
Integrating the Answers11
In Sum: Making Sense of International Relations13
Where Do We Go from Here?14
2The Historical Context of Contemporary International Relations
The Pre-Westphalian World18
The Emergence of the Westphalian System25
Europe in the Nineteenth Century28
The Interwar Years and World War II35
The Cold War38
The Post-Cold War Era49
In Sum: Learning from History53
3Contending Perspectives: How to Think about International Relations Theoretically
Thinking Theoretically55
Theory and the Levels of Analysis59
Liberalism and Neoliberal Institutionalism62
Realism and Neorealism65
The Radical Perspective71
Constructivism74
Theory in Action: Analyzing the 1991 Gulf War and the 2003 Iraq War76
In Sum: Seeing the World through Theoretical Lenses80
4The International System
The Notion of a System83
The International System according to Liberals84
The International System according to Realists86
The International System according to Radicals95
Advantages and Disadvantages of the International System as a Level of Analysis96
In Sum: From the International System to the State99
5The State
The State and the Nation101
Contending Conceptualizations of the State103
The Nature of State Power108
Using State Power112
Models of Foreign-Policy Decisionmaking121
Challenges to the State128
In Sum: The State and Challenges Beyond133
6The Individual
Foreign-Policy Elites: Individuals Who Matter137
Private Individuals147
Mass Publics150
In Sum: How Much Do Individuals Matter?155
7Intergovernmental Organizations, Nongovernmental Organizations, and International Law
Intergovernmental Organizations159
Nongovernmental Organizations180
International Law185
Realist Views of International Organization and Law191
The Radical View of International Organization and Law192
In Sum: Do Intergovernmental Organizations, Nongovernmental Organizations, and International Law Make a Difference?194
8War and Strife
The Causes of War198
The Changing Character of Warfare and Its Instruments208
The Just War Tradition217
Approaches to Managing Insecurity218
Other Threats to International Security228
In Sum: International Security, Old and New229
9International Political Economy
Contending Theoretical Approaches235
Key Concepts in Liberal Economics242
Power, Competition, and Development in the International Political Economy244
The Role of Institutions in Managing Power, Competition, and Development256
In Sum: Economic Convergence and Divergence269
10Globalizing Issues
Health and Disease--Protecting Life in the Commons274
The Environment--Protecting Space in the Global Commons280
Human Rights--Protecting Human Dignity296
The Impact of Globalizing Issues307
Do Globalizing Issues Lead to Global Governance?311
In Sum: Changing You313
Glossary315
Index325