Principles And Problems Of International Politics

Renowned scholar Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, who set the standard for the scientific approach to international relations and transformed the field, has returned with a reformulated fifth edition based on extensive reviewer feedback and guided by an emphasis on questions about the causes and consequences of war, peace, and world order. More than ever before, the strategic perspective in international relations is examined with complete clarity, precision, and accessibility. What hasn′t changed is Bueno de Mesquita′s commitment to covering the fundamentals of IR. The foundational topics and examination are all there: the major theories of war, the domestic sources of international politics, an exploration of the democratic peace, the problems of terrorism, the role of foreign aid, democratization, international political economy, globalization, international organizations, international law, and the global environment. The first part of the book, "Foundations"offers highly accessible coverage of key concepts, introducing students to different ways to think about the national interest and showing them how to use game theory and the strategic perspective/selectorate theory to better understand what happens in all aspects of international affairs. This section uses debate over North Korea′s nuclear weapons development as an ongoing example to build concepts and build confidence in the student′s how of basic modeling ideas. Also covered is a basic, intuitive introduction to game theory and other evidence and logic based tools for analyzing international relations. Part II, "War," next provides a more thorough evaluation of how domestic political incentives and the domestic institutions of governance shape choices about conflict initiation, escalation, and termination. It also surveys major theories of war and conflict, working through hypotheses derived from constructivism, neo-realism, liberalism and selectorate theory and evaluating them against the evidence to see what actually works and what doesn′t.Chapters in Part III, "Peace," build on the logic of collective action to help students see why it is so difficult to get national governments to do "what is right" even when they can agree on what is right, with chapters covering the effectiveness of international organizations and international law, as well as a thorough evaluation of environmental issues, human rights enforcement and the domestic and the international political economy of trade. Part IV, "World Order" emphasizes efforts to promote the spread of democracy and economic prosperity. It also addresses how to understand and deal with terrorism. Whether examining terrorism, the spread of democracy or the alleviation of poverty, chapters in this section carefully examine which strategies work, which do not, and why. The Arab Spring provides a useful ongoing example of the strengths and weaknesses of foreign aid policy and military intervention policies. No other introductory text delivers such an easily-understood contemporary explanation of international politics, while truly enabling students to learn how to mobilize the key concepts and models themselves—thus develop a new method for thinking about world affairs. More than ever before, Principles provides a comprehensive evaluation of all aspects of international affairs, systematically compares the accuracy of competing approaches to international relations, and walks students through the simple, intuitive models and games that capture the essence of the strategic, selectorate viewpoint.

This book distills the essential elements of world politics, both the enduring characteristics as well as the revolutionary changes that may be altering the very fabric of the centuries-old state system. Author J. Martin Rochester explores all the important topics that one would expect to find in an IR text (war, diplomacy, foreign policy, international law and organization, the international economy, and more) but injects fresh perspectives on how globalization and other contemporary trends are affecting these issues. In addition, the author does so through a highly engaging, lively writing style that will appeal to today's students. Fundamental Principles of International Relations is a tightly woven treatment of international politics past and present, drawing on the latest academic scholarship while avoiding excessive jargon and utilizing pedagogical aids while avoiding clutter. Rochester ultimately challenges the reader to think critically about the future of a post-Cold War and post-9/11 world that is arguably more complex, if not more dangerous, than some previous eras, with the potential for promise as well as peril.

Click here to read the introduction.Click here to watch Bruce Bueno de Mesquita’s TED Talk about the future of Iran’s leadership and nuclear program! A little revolution now and again is a good thing. The scientific approach to international relations has transformed the field. And now, thanks to a revolutionary revision, Principles of International Politics offers a crisp and clear introduction to international relations from the strategic point of view. Responding to user feedback and classroom testing, Principles has been completely recast so that the book is focused squarely on the central insights of the strategic perspective. Honing in on two key ideas—winning coalitions and selectorate size—the book delivers the fundamental lessons of the theory more easily than ever, giving students even better access to the most powerful way of thinking about IR today. Not only will students find the text easier to follow, they’ll also find the book shorter—almost half the length of the previous edition. Streamlining places the take-away points front and center, and the basic tools of the model are delivered in clear step-by-step language, allowing beginning students to grasp the theory’s powerful insights. What hasn’t changed: Bueno de Mesquita’s commitment to covering the fundamentals of IR. You’ll find a full examination of security problems, with special attention to theories of war, an exploration of the democratic peace, the problems of terrorism, military intervention, the role of foreign aid, democratization, international political economy, globalization, international organizations, alliances, and international law. Helpful pedagogical features allow students to master the principles, including: chapter-opener overviews, bolded key terms, “Try This” feature boxes, a full glossary, and appendixes (a survey of world history and a primer on the scientific method).

This is a first edition core text for freshman/sophomore-level courses on International Relations—the second largest course market in political science. Introduction to international politics courses typically have multiple goals. On the one hand, instructors seek to introduce students to the discipline through readings and discussions of foundational theoretical perspectives and ongoing debates. On the other hand, instructors seek to help students become informed participants in policy debates about foreign policy and international politics issues by highlighting pressing contemporary issues. Effectively addressing both concerns requires more than simply including both topics in the course syllabus or in a textbook. It requires making systematic linkages between theory and policy. This is a long standing challenge in international politics, one raised many years ago by Alexander George in Bridging the Gap in which he called for greater communication between academic scholars and practitioners. This text seeks to link theory and policy in an organized and efficient fashion that does not ignore or slight the conceptual discussion of international relations or simply chase newspaper headlines. Chapters are organized around “Global Challenges and Policy Responses.” The challenges are presented as concrete policy problems relevant to the theme of the chapter. The discussion of responses emphasize concrete actions being taken or proposed by international organizations, the foreign policies of key states, international agreements, and actions taken by NGOs. Theoretical insights are used to help students understand challenges, think about solutions, and learn from the past.

The only introductory text that offers students real world skills for real world issues Leaders want to stay in power. In fact, decision makers regularly forego sincerely held beliefs rather than risk losing their jobs. This self-interest is the decisive motivation for action in the international arena and forms the theoretical backbone for this distinct, exciting departure from other introductory texts. Bruce Bueno de Mesquita has now enhanced and improved this exciting text's coverage and conceptual focus, while revising and updating chapters to make Principles even more accessible to students. In addition to important new coverage of international political economy, law, organisations, and international political history, the second edition is even better organised, and contains more user-friendly explanations of technical material, as well as a host of new examples drawn from current world events. Second Edition Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and D. Scott Bennett This useful workbook has been redesigned and refocused specifically to help students understand the game theoretic and other technical concepts that structure the strategic perspective. Matching Principles chapter by chapter, students work through problem sets to apply what they've learned. With new material adapted from the textbook, novice students will hone their problem-solving skills, whilst more advanced students have the opportunity to test their capabilities with challenging material. 1-56802-775-3 paperback GBP9.99190 X 235mm 133 pages 2003 Special Offer! Buy the text and workbook shrink-wrapped together at the special price of GBP34.99 Order using ISBN: 1-56802-794-X Ancillaries - Free to adopters! 1. Solutions manual - containing all the answer to the workbook's problems and exercises 2. items - multiple-choice questions, true/false statements, as well as essay questions. With CQP Test Writer, instructors can create multiple forms of a test to prevent cheating, print out matching answer keys, and customize questions to meet individual needs. PowerPoint slides highlight key concepts and provide a spring board for Bruce