Must Global Politics Constrain Democracy?

Must Global Politics Constrain Democracy? PDF Author: Alan Gilbert
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400823285
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 335

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Book Description
As each power vies for its national interests on the world stage, how do its own citizens' democratic interests fare at home? Alan Gilbert speaks to an issue at the heart of current international-relations debate. He contends that, in spite of neo-realists' assumptions, a vocal citizen democracy can and must have a role in global politics. Further, he shows that all the major versions of realism and neo-realism, if properly stated with a view of the national interest as a common good, surprisingly lead to democracy. His most striking example focuses on realist criticisms of the Vietnam War. Democratic internationalism, as Gilbert terms it, is really the linking of citizens' interests across national boundaries to overcome the antidemocratic actions of their own governments. Realist misinterpretations have overlooked Thucydides' theme about how a democracy corrupts itself through imperial expansion as well as Karl Marx's observations about the positive effects of democratic movements in one country on events in others. Gilbert also explodes the democratic peace myth that democratic states do not wage war on one another. He suggests instead policies to accord with the interests of ordinary citizens whose shared bond is a desire for peace. Gilbert shows, through such successes as recent treaties on land mines and policies to slow global warming that citizen movements can have salutary effects. His theory of "deliberative democracy" proposes institutional changes that would give the voice of ordinary citizens a greater influence on the international actions of their own government.

Must Global Politics Constrain Democracy?

Must Global Politics Constrain Democracy? PDF Author: Alan Gilbert
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400823285
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 335

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Book Description
As each power vies for its national interests on the world stage, how do its own citizens' democratic interests fare at home? Alan Gilbert speaks to an issue at the heart of current international-relations debate. He contends that, in spite of neo-realists' assumptions, a vocal citizen democracy can and must have a role in global politics. Further, he shows that all the major versions of realism and neo-realism, if properly stated with a view of the national interest as a common good, surprisingly lead to democracy. His most striking example focuses on realist criticisms of the Vietnam War. Democratic internationalism, as Gilbert terms it, is really the linking of citizens' interests across national boundaries to overcome the antidemocratic actions of their own governments. Realist misinterpretations have overlooked Thucydides' theme about how a democracy corrupts itself through imperial expansion as well as Karl Marx's observations about the positive effects of democratic movements in one country on events in others. Gilbert also explodes the democratic peace myth that democratic states do not wage war on one another. He suggests instead policies to accord with the interests of ordinary citizens whose shared bond is a desire for peace. Gilbert shows, through such successes as recent treaties on land mines and policies to slow global warming that citizen movements can have salutary effects. His theory of "deliberative democracy" proposes institutional changes that would give the voice of ordinary citizens a greater influence on the international actions of their own government.

Democratic Realism

Democratic Realism PDF Author: Charles Krauthammer
Publisher: A E I Press
ISBN: 9780844713885
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This essay examines four contending schools of American foreign policy.

The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (Updated Edition)

The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (Updated Edition) PDF Author: John J. Mearsheimer
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393076245
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 572

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Book Description
"A superb book.…Mearsheimer has made a significant contribution to our understanding of the behavior of great powers."—Barry R. Posen, The National Interest The updated edition of this classic treatise on the behavior of great powers takes a penetrating look at the question likely to dominate international relations in the twenty-first century: Can China rise peacefully? In clear, eloquent prose, John Mearsheimer explains why the answer is no: a rising China will seek to dominate Asia, while the United States, determined to remain the world's sole regional hegemon, will go to great lengths to prevent that from happening. The tragedy of great power politics is inescapable.

Theory of International Politics

Theory of International Politics PDF Author: Kenneth Neal Waltz
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Humanities, Social Sciences & World Languages
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
Forfatterens mål med denne bog er: 1) Analyse af de gældende teorier for international politik og hvad der heri er lagt størst vægt på. 2) Konstruktion af en teori for international politik som kan kan råde bod på de mangler, der er i de nu gældende. 3) Afprøvning af den rekonstruerede teori på faktiske hændelsesforløb.

History and International Relations

History and International Relations PDF Author: Howard LeRoy Malchow
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1441196811
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 345

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Book Description
History and International Relations examines, from a historian's perspective, the evolution of international relations as a discipline and charts its engagement with the history of war, peace, and foreign relations from the ancient world to the present day. In three parts, it looks at the field's development, its contribution to historical narrative, and its contemporary practice: Part I: 'The History of a Discipline' locates the development of IR scholarship in its own historical contexts, examining the origin of dominant IR theories, their use of historical evidence, and their relation to other social science disciplines. Part II: 'IR and International History' explores key moments in the history of war and peace, from the Peloponnesian War to the Cold War and beyond, and the role they played in constructing the discipline. Part III: 'Contemporary IR and the Uses of History' reflects on the current ferment in IR over its Eurocentric theory and practice, its key concepts of state and sovereignty, the impact of non-state actors and human rights, and 'the return of history.'

Dynamics of International Relations

Dynamics of International Relations PDF Author: Walter C. Clemens
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 9780742528215
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 772

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Book Description
Student-friendly and professor-endorsed, Dynamics of International Relations is an innovative, introductory level core text. It compares realist and idealist theories and the paradigm of interdependence against case studies of recurrent problems--why wage war, how to make peace, how to transcend conflict, when and where to mediate, how to increase GDP but also quality of life, and how to organize for peace and promote human rights. Against a backdrop of the threat of terrorism, Clemens clearly demonstrates both the danger and opportunities inherent in a growing global interdependence.

Democracy and War

Democracy and War PDF Author: Errol Anthony Henderson
Publisher: Lynne Rienner Publishers
ISBN: 9781588260765
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
Henderson (political science, Wayne State U.) uses the same basic research design of the democratic peace proposition (DPP)--which contends that democracies rarely fight each other, are generally more peaceful than nondemocracies, and rarely experience civil war--to challenge the validity of the DPP. His results indicate that democracy is not significantly associated with a decreased likelihood of international war, militarized disputes, or civil wars in postcolonial states. He finds that in war between states and nonstate actors, such as colonial and imperial wars, democracies in general are less likely but Western states, specifically, are more likely to become involved in this type of "extrastate" war. He argues that global peace will require more than a worldwide spread of democracy. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Political Thought and International Relations

Political Thought and International Relations PDF Author: Duncan Bell
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191614033
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
Political realism dominated the field of International Relations during the Cold War. Since then, however, its fortunes have been mixed: pushed onto the backfoot during 1990s, it has in recent years retuned to the centre of scholarly debate. Despite its prominence in International Relations, however, realism plays only a marginal role in contemporary international political theory. It is often associated with a form of crude realpolitik that ignores the ethical dimensions of political life. The contributors to this book explore alternative understandings of realism, seeing it as a diverse and complex mode of political and ethical theorising rather than simply a "value-neutral" social scientific theory or the unreflective defence of the national interest. A number of the chapters offer critical interpretations of key figures in the canon of twentieth century realism, including Hans Morgenthau, E. H. Carr, and Reinhold Niebuhr. Others seek to widen the lens through which realism is usually viewed, exploring the writings of Martin Heidegger, Hannah Arendt, and Leo Strauss. Finally, a number of the contributors engage with general issues in international political theory, including the meaning and value of pessimism, the relationship between power and ethics, the purpose of normative political theory, and what might constitute political "reality." Straddling International Relations and political theory, this book makes a significant contribution to both fields.

Uncertain Democracy

Uncertain Democracy PDF Author: Lincoln A. Mitchell
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN: 0812202813
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
In November of 2003, a stolen election in the former Soviet republic of Georgia led to protests and the eventual resignation of President Eduard Shevardnadze. Shevardnadze was replaced by a democratically elected government led by President Mikheil Saakashvili, who pledged to rebuild Georgia, orient it toward the West, and develop a European-style democracy. Known as the Rose Revolution, this early twenty-first-century democratic movement was only one of the so-called color revolutions (Orange in Ukraine, Tulip in Kyrgyzstan, and Cedar in Lebanon). What made democratic revolution in Georgia thrive when so many similar movements in the early part of the decade dissolved? Lincoln A. Mitchell witnessed the Rose Revolution firsthand, even playing a role in its manifestation by working closely with key Georgian actors who brought about change. In Uncertain Democracy, Mitchell recounts the events that led to the overthrow of Shevardnadze and analyzes the factors that contributed to the staying power of the new regime. The book also explores the modest but indispensable role of the United States in contributing to the Rose Revolution and Georgia's failure to live up to its democratic promise. Uncertain Democracy is the first scholarly examination of Georgia's recent political past. Drawing upon primary sources, secondary documents, and his own NGO experience, Mitchell presents a compelling case study of the effect of U.S. policy of promoting democracy abroad.

Historical Dictionary of Democracy

Historical Dictionary of Democracy PDF Author: Norman Abjorensen
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1538120747
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 551

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Book Description
Democracy is easy to talk about but hard to define in other than broad generalizations; its history is a long, complex, and contested subject. What this volume seeks to do is to explore the general evolution of political and social thinking that would eventually coalesce into what we now know as democracy, for all its imperfections and shortcomings. The question of just why some societies evolved into a democratic trajectory and others did not continues to engage the interest of historians, political scientists, sociologists, and anthropologists. Much conjecture surrounds the rise of certain elements we now recognize if not as democratic, then proto-democratic, such as collective decision-making, constraints on the exercise of power and a degree of accountability of the ruler to the ruled. If democracy in the sense of “rule by the people” has two essential qualities – rule by the majority and the equal treatment of free citizens - then its origins, however feeble, are to be found in these early examples of government. Historical Dictionary of Democracy contains a chronology, an introduction, a glossary, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 600 cross-referenced entries. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about democracy.