International Political Thought: An Historical IntroductionPolity, 2005 M01 14 - 231 pages This volume offers an accessible and wide-ranging introduction to the history of international political thought. Taking as its starting-point the various concepts people have used to think about differences between political communities, the book explores changing perceptions of international politics from antiquity to the twentieth century. As well as discussing well-known themes such as relations between independent sovereign states and the tension between raison d'etat and a universal code of natural law, it also examines less familiar ideas which have influenced the development of international political thought such as the distinction between civilization, national culture and barbarism, religious attitudes towards infidels, and theories about racial difference and imperialism. Among the key thinkers covered are Thucydides, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Kant, Marx and Morgenthau, alongside less commonly studied figures such as Herodotus, Pope Innocent IV, Herder, Constant and Zimmern. Each chapter concludes with a guide to further reading which will help students to develop a more detailed understanding of the subject. Written with the beginner student in mind, this lively textbook is an ideal introduction for anyone studying international political thought. |
Contents
The Study of International Political Thought | 1 |
Barbarians Custom and Nature | 22 |
WorldCity Empire and Natural Law | 45 |
Christendom and the House of Islam | 68 |
Reason of State Natural Law and State of Nature | 98 |
Human Nature Civilization and Culture | 134 |
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al-Islam ancient argued argument Aristotelian Aristotle Aristotle’s balance of power barbarians belief Cambridge University Press century Christendom Christian Cicero civil society classical conception of nature context conventional cosmopolitan culture customs Dar al-Islam distinction early modern Enlightenment ethnic Europe European example fact faith focus Greeks Greeks and barbarians Grotius Guizot Herder Herodotus historians history of international Hobbes human nature Hume ibid ical identity imperial important international political thought international relations international society Islam justice Kant language liberal London Machiavelli medieval Middle Ages Mill moral Muslim natural law Oxford particular peace Peace of Westphalia Peloponnesian War Persian Persian empire philosophes Plato position prince principle problem reason religious Rohan role Roman citizenship Roman empire Rousseau rule rulers Scottish Enlightenment sense shari‘a Skinner social sovereign sovereignty Spanish Stoic textbooks themes theorists Theory of International thinkers thinking Thucydides tion tional traditions trans world-city