Title: A history of international relations theory /
Authors: Knutsen, Torbjørn L.
Publisher: Manchester University Press ; Distributed exclusively in the USA by St. Martin's Press,
Year: 1997
Subjects: International relations History; International relations Philosophy
Abstract: "Torbjorn L. Knutsen introduces ideas on international relations expressed by thinkers from the High Middle Ages to the present day, and traces the developments of four ever-present themes: war, wealth, peace and power. The book counters the assumption that international relations has no theoretical tradition and shows that scholars, soldiers and statesmen have been speculating about the subject for the last 700 years." "Beginning with the roots of the state and the concept of sovereignty in the Middle Ages, the author draws upon the insights of outstanding political thinkers. Clearly and succinctly the theories of Aquinas, Machiavelli, Hegel, Rousseau, Bentham, Marx and Lenin amongst others are discussed and analysed. The ideas of these thinkers are placed in context with the societies and intellectual ideas that produced them. The text is fully revised and updated to include the place of international relations after the Cold War and new ways of thinking opened up by developments in information technology."--Jacket.
Contents: Introduction: Why a history of International Relations theory? -- pt. 1. Preludes -- 1. Gods, sinners and the origins of International Relations theory -- 2. The roots of the Modern Ages: Renaissance interstate politics -- pt. 2. The Modern Ages -- 3. Guns, ships and printing presses: the sixteenth century and the birth of the modern world -- 4. Absolutist politics: the seventeenth century and the growth of the interstate system -- 5. Enlightenment politics: the eighteenth century and the rise of popular sovereignty -- 6. Ideological politics: the nineteenth century and the rise of mass participation -- pt. 3. The Contemporary Age -- 7. Intermezzo: becoming contemporary -- 8. Interwar politics: the twenty years' crisis -- 9. Cold War politics: international relations after World War II -- 10. Leaving modernity?