Bøger i Cambridge Studies in International Relations serien

For decades, the starting point of international relations (IR) scholars was the anarchic nature of international politics. Recent examples of political and financial turmoil, however, have shown the inadequacies of existing theoretical frameworks. This ground-breaking book brings leading IR scholars together in order to move the discipline in a new direction.

Drawing on recent research in moral psychology and neuroscience, this book argues that universal moral beliefs and emotions shaped the evolution of the laws of war, and in particular laws that protect civilians. It argues that civilian protection norms are not just a figment of the modern West, but that these norms were embryonic in earlier societies and civilizations, including Ancient China, early Islam, and medieval Europe. However, despite their ubiquity, this book argues that civilian protection rules are inherently fragile, and that their fragility lies not just in failures of compliance, but also in how moral emotions shaped the design of the law. The same beliefs and emotions that lead people to judge that it is wrong to intentionally target civilians can paradoxically constitute the basis for excusing states for incidental civilian casualties, or collateral damage. To make the laws of war work better for civilians, this book argues that we need to change how we think about the ethics of killing in war.

Who has the right to wage war? The answer to this question constitutes one of the most fundamental organizing principles of any international order. Under contemporary international humanitarian law, this right is essentially restricted to sovereign states. It has been conventionally assumed that this arrangement derives from the ideas of the late-sixteenth century jurist Alberico Gentili. Claire Vergerio argues that this story is a myth, invented in the late 1800s by a group of prominent international lawyers who crafted what would become the contemporary laws of war. These lawyers reinterpreted Gentili's writings on war after centuries of marginal interest, and this revival was deeply intertwined with a project of making the modern sovereign state the sole subject of international law. By uncovering the genesis and diffusion of this narrative, Vergerio calls for a profound reassessment of when and with what consequences war became the exclusive prerogative of sovereign states.

"Global security, climate and health challenges have called into question our capacity to cope with change. Criticizing mainstream norm, practice and realist theory, Jason Ralph offers a 'Pragmatic Constructivist' theory of learning, which is then used to assess international society's problem-solving capacities"--

This book analyses the underlying structure and dynamic forces which have shaped the international trade in arms from the development of military technologies in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries to the twentieth- century revolutions in weaponry.

Globalizing processes are gathering increased attention for complicating the nature of political boundaries, authority and sovereignty. Recent examples of global financial and political turmoil have also created a sense of unease about the durability of the modern international order and the ability of our existing theoretical frameworks to explain system dynamics. In light of the inadequacies of traditional international relation (IR) theories in explaining the contemporary global context, a growing range of scholars have been seeking to make sense of world politics through an analytical focus on hierarchies instead. Until now, the explanatory potential of such research agendas and their implications for the discipline went unrecognized, partly due to the fragmented nature of the IR field. To address this gap, this ground-breaking book brings leading IR scholars together in a conversation on hierarchy and thus moves the discipline in a direction better equipped to deal with the challenges of the twenty-first century.

In this book Rob Walker offers an original analysis of the relationship between twentieth-century theories of international relations, and the political theory of civil society since the early modern period. He views theories of international relations both as an ideological expression of the modern state, and as a clear indication of the difficulties of thinking about a world politics characterized by profound spatiotemporal accelerations. International relations theories should be seen, the author argues, more as aspects of contemporary world politics than as explanations of contemporary world politics. These theories are examined in the light of recent debates about modernity and post-modernity, sovereignty and political identity, and the limits of modern social and political theory. This book is a major contribution to the field of critical international relations, and will be of interest to social and political theorists and political scientists, as well as students and scholars of international relations.

This book assesses the impact of norms on decision-making. It argues that norms influence choices not by being causes for actions, but by providing reasons. Consequently it approaches the problem via an investigation of the reasoning process in which norms play a decisive role. Kratochwil argues that, depending upon the strictness the guidance norms provide in arriving at a decision, different styles of reasoning with norms can be distinguished. While the focus in this book is largely analytical, the argument is developed through the interpretation of the classic thinkers in international law (Grotius, Vattel, Pufendorf, Rousseau, Hume, Habermas).

Exploring the tensions of Christian practice in the modern world, Lynch demonstrates the ethical precarity that characterizes both religious and secular actions in international politics from early missions to contemporary humanitarianism. It will be of particular interest to students and scholars of IR, religion and politics, and religious studies

Building on his research on constructivist theory, and communities and practices, Adler suggests cognitive evolution, a timely social and normative theory of world ordering. It explains why configurations of practices organize and govern social orders epistemically and normatively, and why and how they evolve from one social order to another.

International relations scholars typically assume the rationality of foreign policy makers when in fact leaders systematically vary in the rationality of their thinking. Through case studies of leaders like Churchill and Reagan, Rathbun shows that the imposed standard of rationality, based in objectivity and deliberation, was often absent.

To what extent are global rule-of-law norms, which external actors promote in post-conflict states, localized? Who decides whether global standards or local particularities prevail? This book offers a new approach to the debate about how the dilemma between the diffusion of global norms and their localization is dealt with in global politics. Studying the promotion of children's rights, access to public information, and an international commission against impunity in Guatemala, Lisbeth Zimmermann demonstrates that rule-of-law promotion triggers domestic contestation and thereby changes the approach taken by external actors, and ultimately the manner in which global norms are translated. However, the leeway in local translation is determined by the precision of global norms. Based on an innovative theoretical approach and an in-depth study of rule-of-law translation, Zimmermann argues for a shift in norm promotion from context sensitivity to democratic appropriation, speaking to scholars of international relations, peacebuilding, democratization studies, international law, and political theory.

Allan argues that cosmological ideas arising from Western science altered the goals and purposes that underlie international orders. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of international relations theory, international history, the history of science, and organizational and historical sociology.

This book examines how justice and reconciliation in world politics should be conceived in response to the injustice and alienation of modern colonialism?

Nuclear Politics provides a compelling theory of nuclear proliferation, backed by extensive evidence on sixteen cases of nuclear development. Its theoretical rigor and historical richness make this book essential reading for anyone interested in understanding why countries acquire nuclear weapons - and what can be done to stem nuclear proliferation.

This analysis of the historical evolution and contemporary form of the system of world politics utilizes contemporary theories and debates in sociology and global history. Critically reflecting also on world politics in the field of international relations, this book will appeal to a wide readership in a range of fields.

This book provides one of the first systematic examinations of the role emotions play in world politics. Using extensive conceptual inquiries and empirical case studies, it shows how representations of trauma, from terrorist attacks and humanitarian crises to civil unrest, can generate emotional legacies that shape communities in international relations.

Dominant narratives have often served as the foundation for debates over national security. This book offers novel arguments about where these narratives come from, how they become dominant and when they collapse. It shows how these arguments shed light on US national security debates and policy from the 1930s through the 2000s.

A provocative new history of counterinsurgency with major implications for the history and theory of war, but also the history of social, political and international thought and social, political and international studies more generally. This book will interest scholars and advanced students in the humanities and social sciences.

Drawing on original qualitative and quantitative evidence, this book demonstrates how the rules of the game influence the cooperative or coercive nature of the strategies adopted by all states in a negotiation. It provides a rich understanding of the nuances of states' behavior in international bargaining processes.

Karp argues that non-state actors, including transnational corporations, can sometimes be public enough to have 'responsibility for human rights'. His book shows how this approach is superior to the main alternative perspectives, and gives readers an original combination of theory and empirical grounding in the world of practice.

Theory of Unipolar Politics provides the first theory of international politics applicable to the post-Cold War world. According to Dr Nuno P. Monteiro, contrary to existing views, this type of international system, in which there is no overall balance of power, is both potentially durable and prone to frequent conflict.

Why are democracies pursuing more military conflicts, but achieving worse results? Examining modern militaries and the average voter's incentives, this book explains why Britain's empire swelled as its suffrage expanded, why the US pursued a lengthy but flawed strategy in Vietnam, and why we are entering an age of democratic militarism.

Friedrich Kratochwil's book explores the key discourses surrounding the role of law in the international arena. Providing an overview of the debates in legal theory, philosophy, international law and international organizations, Kratochwil reflects on the need to break down disciplinary boundaries.