num_pages: 238
description: In periods of rapid change, social scientists are nearly as much "at sea" as anyone else. The new post-Cold War era, despite the triumphalism of Western elites and all the frothy philosophizing about the "end of history," is really quite precarious. These "dead reckonings" accordingly try to chart a course through an arena where familiar landmarks are altered or absent. Therefore, the book investigates how scientific ideas interact with material circumstances and social ideologies to influence politics. It addresses debates in both the philosophy of science and in the field of political science; it examines the socioeconomic impact of foreign high technology investment upon "less developed" host states, the difficulties of reconciling the microelectronics revolution with social needs in advanced industrial nations, the export of sensitive nuclear fuels and facilities, the role that technology as an "independent variable" plays in the politics of trade policy -- especially in the United States, and the limits of rational choice analysis in the peace process in Northern Ireland; and it radically reconsiders the "national-international connection" in political science and its implications for the porous border between the subdisciplines of international relations and comparative politics. It concludes with a pair of short essays dealing with ideological antics within television and cinema. DEAD RECKONINGS is aimed at an audience of political scientists and social scientists but should interest many nonspecialists who are concerned with these broad social issues.
language: English
title: Dead Reckonings: Ideas, Interests, and Politics in the 'Information Age'
titlecomplete: Dead Reckonings: Ideas, Interests, and Politics in the 'Information Age'
ratings_count: 4
publisher: Humanities Press