Social Theory of International Politics

Social Theory of International Politics PDF Author: Alexander Wendt
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107268435
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
Drawing upon philosophy and social theory, Social Theory of International Politics develops a theory of the international system as a social construction. Alexander Wendt clarifies the central claims of the constructivist approach, presenting a structural and idealist worldview which contrasts with the individualism and materialism which underpins much mainstream international relations theory. He builds a cultural theory of international politics, which takes whether states view each other as enemies, rivals or friends as a fundamental determinant. Wendt characterises these roles as 'cultures of anarchy', described as Hobbesian, Lockean and Kantian respectively. These cultures are shared ideas which help shape state interests and capabilities, and generate tendencies in the international system. The book describes four factors which can drive structural change from one culture to another - interdependence, common fate, homogenization, and self-restraint - and examines the effects of capitalism and democracy in the emergence of a Kantian culture in the West.

Social Theory of International Politics

Social Theory of International Politics PDF Author: Alexander Wendt
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107268435
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 264

Get Book Here

Book Description
Drawing upon philosophy and social theory, Social Theory of International Politics develops a theory of the international system as a social construction. Alexander Wendt clarifies the central claims of the constructivist approach, presenting a structural and idealist worldview which contrasts with the individualism and materialism which underpins much mainstream international relations theory. He builds a cultural theory of international politics, which takes whether states view each other as enemies, rivals or friends as a fundamental determinant. Wendt characterises these roles as 'cultures of anarchy', described as Hobbesian, Lockean and Kantian respectively. These cultures are shared ideas which help shape state interests and capabilities, and generate tendencies in the international system. The book describes four factors which can drive structural change from one culture to another - interdependence, common fate, homogenization, and self-restraint - and examines the effects of capitalism and democracy in the emergence of a Kantian culture in the West.

Social Theory and Political Practice (RLE Social Theory)

Social Theory and Political Practice (RLE Social Theory) PDF Author: Brian Fay
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317652282
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 107

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Book Description
This book examines the question of how our knowledge of social life affects, and ought to affect, our way of living it. In so doing, it critically discusses two epistemological models of social science – the positivist and the interpretive – from the viewpoint of the political theories which, it is argued, are implicit in these models; moreover, it proposes a third model – the critical – which is organised around an explicit account of the relation between social theory and practical life. The book has the special merit of being a good overview of the principal current ideas about the relation between social theory and political practice, as well as an attempt at providing a new and more satisfactory account of this relationship. To accomplish this task, it synthesises work from the analytic philosophy of social science with that of the neo-Marxism of the Frankfurt school.

Political Power and Social Theory

Political Power and Social Theory PDF Author: Diane E. Davis
Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing
ISBN: 1849506671
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 340

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Book Description
It is time to consider changes in the field of comparative-historical sociology, as the discipline seeks to accommodate old and new trends as well as the transforming spatial scales in which political power and social theory are increasingly embedded. This title showcases articles that pursue similar themes.

Social Theory after the Internet

Social Theory after the Internet PDF Author: Ralph Schroeder
Publisher: UCL Press
ISBN: 178735122X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
The internet has fundamentally transformed society in the past 25 years, yet existing theories of mass or interpersonal communication do not work well in understanding a digital world. Nor has this understanding been helped by disciplinary specialization and a continual focus on the latest innovations. Ralph Schroeder takes a longer-term view, synthesizing perspectives and findings from various social science disciplines in four countries: the United States, Sweden, India and China. His comparison highlights, among other observations, that smartphones are in many respects more important than PC-based internet uses. Social Theory after the Internet focuses on everyday uses and effects of the internet, including information seeking and big data, and explains how the internet has gone beyond traditional media in, for example, enabling Donald Trump and Narendra Modi to come to power. Schroeder puts forward a sophisticated theory of the role of the internet, and how both technological and social forces shape its significance. He provides a sweeping and penetrating study, theoretically ambitious and at the same time always empirically grounded.The book will be of great interest to students and scholars of digital media and society, the internet and politics, and the social implications of big data.

Social Theory and the Politics of Identity

Social Theory and the Politics of Identity PDF Author: Craig Calhoun
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
ISBN: 9781557864734
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 364

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Book Description
New social movements of the post-war era have brought to prominence the idea that identity can be a crucial focus for political struggle. Linked to an increasing recognition that social theory itself must put the politics of identity on center stage, this volume impels social theorists not only to make sense of the "world out there", but also to make sense of differences within the discourse of theory.

Thinking with Soils

Thinking with Soils PDF Author: Juan Francisco Salazar
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350109584
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
This book presents a novel and systematic social theory of soil, and is representative of the rising interest in 'the material' in social sciences. Bringing together new modes of 'critical description' with speculative practices and methods of inquiry, it contributes to the exploration of current transformations in socioecologies, as well as in political and artistic practices, in order to address global ecological change. The chapters in this edited volume challenge scholars to attend more carefully to the ways in which they think about soil, both materially and theoretically. Contributors address a range of topics, including new ways of thinking about the politics of caring for soils; the ecological and symbiotic relations between soils; how the productive capacities and contested governance of soils are deployed as matters of political concern; and indigenous ways of knowing and being with soil.

Political Communication and Social Theory

Political Communication and Social Theory PDF Author: Aeron Davis
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136940286
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 215

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Book Description
Suitable for students and scholars of political communication and mass media in democracies, this book challenges the traditional scholarship on various issues such as: comparative political and media systems; theories of democracy, representation and the public sphere; and, political party communication, marketing and elections.

Food, Politics, and Society

Food, Politics, and Society PDF Author: Alejandro Colas
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520965523
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 287

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Book Description
Food and drink has been a focal point of modern social theory since the inception of agrarian capitalism and the industrial revolution. From Adam Smith to Mary Douglas, major thinkers have used key concepts such as identity, exchange, culture, and class to explain the modern food system. Food, Politics, and Society offers a historical and sociological survey of how these various ideas and the practices that accompany them have shaped our understanding and organization of the production, processing, preparation, serving, and consumption of food and drink in modern societies. Divided into twelve chapters and drawing on a wide range of historical and empirical illustrations, this book provides a concise, informed, and accessible survey of the interaction between social theory and food and drink. It is perfect for courses in a wide range of disciplines.

Social Theory

Social Theory PDF Author: Roberto Mangabeira Unger
Publisher: Verso
ISBN: 9781844675159
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 268

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Book Description
Volume 2 of Politics, a work in constructive social theory.

Postcolonial Sociologies

Postcolonial Sociologies PDF Author: Julian Go
Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing
ISBN: 1786353253
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 339

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Book Description
How can postcolonial thought be most fruitfully translated and incorporated into sociology? This special volume brings together leading sociologists to offer some answers and examples. The chapters offer new postcolonial readings of canonical thinkers like Karl Marx, Max Weber, Emile Durkheim and Robert Park.