Books in the Rethinking World Politics series

This is an essential text for undergraduate and postgraduate students studying Global Governance or International Organizations, and is also important reading for those working on Political Economy, International Development and Globalization.

The end of the Cold War gave rise to much talk of a 'new' global order and debate about just how new or orderly it was and would be. Attempts to analyse the nature of this order have been many and various. This important new text assesses the main approaches and offers its own analysis arguing that, while chaos and raw anarchy are not on the cards, each of the major domains of power - security, economics, institutions and values - contains elements of potentially major instability. Interstate war may be receding, but there are no simple solutions to comprehensive violent conflict inside fragile states, and the non-democratic great powers continue to have major regional ambitions. There is a global liberal market economy, but it is increasingly unequal and its financial infrastructure remains fragile and crisis-prone. There is a comprehensive set of international institutions but they are rather weak and in need of reform. Liberal values are nominally endorsed by most states but they are in internal conflict and make up no firm basis for a stable world order. Finally, world order is threatened from within because the social compacts, political infrastructures, and national economic capacities of many states will decline. This will have negative consequences for the willingness to bring about effective global governance. The result may be a destructive dynamic which might take us towards a Hobbesian world in ways which Hobbes himself had never imagined.

A major new text on terrorism in the contemporary world. Terrorism, Colin Wight argues, is not only a form of political violence but also a form of political communication and can only be understood - and countered effectively - in the context of its relationship to the state.

Hegemony has long been a key concept within the study of international politics. This new text re-assesses its various meanings in light of recent world events, and uses core theory to assist a nuanced understanding of its historical importance and contemporary significance in a changing global order.

Providing a much-needed antidote to recent revisionist attempts to 'rehabilitate' apartheid, this major new text by a leading authority offers a considered and substantive reassessment of the nature, endurance and significance of apartheid in South Africa as well as the reasons for its dramatic collapse.

A systematic reassessment, by two leading figures in the field, of the paradigm of international development in both theory and practice. It offers an overview and critique of development theory and strategy, and a new framework for the analysis of global inequality, poverty and development in an era of globalization.

Today the debates on globalization between its evangelists and detractors are still raging. In this concise, balanced and accessible new text, Nick Bisley assesses the nature and extent of globalization, the key debates surrounding it and its impact on and significance for world politics.

Imperialism has become a key focus of debate about world politics in the post-9/11 world. This major new text provides a systematic reappraisal of the evolution of the phenomenon and the concept from the 19th century as the basis for a reassessment of Globalization and US hegemony in the world today.

International Relations (IR) theory has seen a proliferation of competing, and increasingly trenchant, worldviews with no consensus on how to evaluate their relative strengths and weakness. This innovative new text provides an original interpretation of how best to navigate the clash of perspectives in contemporary IR theory.The book provides a systematic overview of the main worldviews - such as realism, liberalism, and constructivism - and their associated theoretical underpinnings. Placing liberal internationalism at the heart of the debate, it argues that the main division in IR theory is between liberal internationalism and its critics. Griffiths examines both the strengths and weaknesses of liberal internationalism as a worldview, and also explores the competing worldviews that have been generated by the perceived flaws of this perspective.Examination of crucial policy issues is incorporated throughout the text, restoring the relevance of theory for those who wish to understand those policy issues. Moreover, this book revitalises the raison d'etre of contemporary IR theory and shows the role it can play in making sense of the twenty-first century.

The eurozone crisis has raised fundamental questions about the EU's future and has also sparked debate about the wider functions and future direction of European integration in the 21st century. This engaging book provides a broad-ranging reassessment of the whole experience of integration to date and the challenges which face Europe today.

This innovative analysis of Soviet Communism offers a fresh perspective on the Soviet Union's role in world politics by paying particular attention to the influence of Soviet ideology and the balance of power on different regions of the world, including the West, the Third World, and the East European Soviet bloc.

gf

The Vietnam War is one of the defining conflicts of the twentieth century: not only did it divide American society at every level; the conflict also represented a key shift in Asian anti-colonialism and shaped the course of the Cold War. Despite its political and social importance, popular memory of the war is dominated by myths and stereotypes. In this incisive new text, John Dumbrell debunks popular assumptions about the war and reassesses the key political, military and historical controversies associated with one of the most contentious and divisive wars of recent times. Drawing upon an extensive range of newly accessible sources, Rethinking the Vietnam War assesses all aspects of the conflict - ranging across domestic electoral politics in the USA to the divided communist leadership in Hanoi and grassroots antiwar movements around the world. The book charts the full course of the war - from the origins of American involvement, the growing internationalization of the conflict and the swing year of 1968 to bitter twists in Sino-Soviet rivalry and the eventual withdrawal of American forces. Situating the conflict within an international context, John Dumbrell also considers competing interpretations of the war and points the way to the resolution of debates which have divided international opinion for decades.