Scientific Cosmology And International Orders

Scientific Cosmology and International Orders shows how scientific ideas have transformed international politics since 1550. Allan argues that cosmological concepts arising from Western science made possible the shift from a sixteenth-century order premised upon divine providence to the present order centred on economic growth. As states and other international associations used scientific ideas to solve problems, they slowly reconfigured ideas about how the world works, humanity's place in the universe, and the meaning of progress. The book demonstrates the rise of scientific ideas across three cases: natural philosophy in balance of power politics, 1550–1815; geology and Darwinism in British colonial policy and international colonial orders, 1860–1950; and cybernetic-systems thinking and economics in the World Bank and American liberal order, 1945–2015. Together, the cases trace the emergence of economic growth as a central end of states from its origins in colonial doctrines of development and balance of power thinking about improvement.

A history of how scientific ideas have transformed international politics since 1550.

This book explores how states, scholars and other actors have justified war from early modernity to the present. Looking at narratives of the justification of war in theory and practice, this book offers a comprehensive investigation of the emergence of the modern international order and its normative foundation.

Examining the legacy of Alberico Gentili, this book questions conventional narratives about how states monopolized the right to wage war.

Making Identity Count presents a new constructivist method for the recovery of national identity, applies the method in nine country cases, and draws conclusions from the empirical evidence for hegemonic transitions and a variety of quantitative theories of identity.

Is contemporary international order truly a secular arrangement? Theorists of international relations typically adhere to a narrative that portrays the modern states system as the product of a gradual process of secularization that transcended the religiosity of medieval Christendom. William Bain challenges this narrative by arguing that modern theories of international order reflect ideas that originate in medieval theology. They are, in other words, worldly applications of a theological pattern. This ground-breaking book makes two key contributions to scholarship on international order. First, it provides a thorough intellectual history of medieval and early modern traditions of thought and the way in which they shape modern thinking about international order. It explores the ideas of Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, William of Ockham, Martin Luther, and other theologians to rise above the sharp differentiation of medieval and modern that underpins most international thought. Uncovering this theological inheritance invites a fundamental reassessment of canonical figures, such as Hugo Grotius and Thomas Hobbes, and their contribution to theorizing international order. Second, this book shows how theological ideas continue to shape modern theories of international order by structuring the questions theorists ask as well as the answer they provide. It argues that the dominant vocabulary of international order, system and society, anarchy, balance of power, and constitutionalism, is mediated by the intellectual commitments of nominalist theology. It concludes by exploring the implications of thinking in terms of this theological inheritance, albeit in a world where God is only one of several possibilities that can called upon to secure the regularity of order.

World-leading researchers, including Nobel Laureates, explore the most basic questions of science, philosophy, and the nature of existence.

The Encyclopedia of Cosmology is a new and exciting project which will be a major, long-lasting, seminal reference (a set of four major volumes) at the graduate student level, laid out by the most prominent, respected researchers in the general field of Cosmology. These volumes will be a comprehensive review of the most important concepts and current status in the field of Cosmology of the Universe, covering both theory and observation.One of the most exciting parts of the encyclopedia is that it will exist in both print and, more importantly, electronic forms, perhaps even with some level of interactivity with material such as expanded explanations, movie clips, dynamic pictures, examples of on-line computation, etc. The electronic version will also reflect constant updates of the material. It will be a truly unique publication, unlike anything any of us have seen or known of in existence today.This comprehensive encyclopedia is edited by Dr. Giovanni Fazio from Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, with an advisory board comprised of renowned scientists: Lars Hernquist and Abraham Loeb (Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), and Christopher McKee (UC Berkeley). Each volume is authored/edited by a specialist in the area: Galaxy Formation and Evolution written by Rennan Barkana (Tel Aviv University), Numerical Simulations in Cosmology edited by Kentaro Nagamine (Osaka University / University of Nevada), Dark Energy written by Shinji Tsujikawa (Tokyo University of Science), and Dark Matter written by Jihn Kim (Seoul National University).

Modern cosmology has changed significantly over the years, from the discovery to the precision measurement era. The data now available provide a wealth of information, mostly consistent with a model where dark matter and dark energy are in a rough proportion of 3:7. The time is right for a fresh new textbook which captures the state-of-the art in cosmology. Written by one of the world's leading cosmologists, this brand new, thoroughly class-tested textbook provides graduate and undergraduate students with coverage of the very latest developments and experimental results in the field. Prof. Nicola Vittorio shows what is meant by precision cosmology, from both theoretical and observational perspectives. This book is divided into three main parts: Part I provides a pedagogical, but rigorous, general relativity-based discussion of cosmological models, showing the evidence for dark energy, the constraints from primordial nucleosynthesis and the need for inflation Part II introduces density fluctuations and their statistical description, discussing different theoretical scenarios, such as CDM, as well as observations Part III introduces the general relativity approach to structure formation and discusses the physics behind the CMB temperature and polarization pattern of the microwave sky Carefully adapted from the course taught by Prof. Vittorio at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, this book will be an ideal companion for advanced students undertaking a course in cosmology. Features: Incorporates the latest experimental results, at a time of rapid change in this field, with balanced coverage of both theoretical and experimental perspectives Each chapter is accompanied by problems, with detailed solutions The basics of tensor calculus and GR are given in the appendices

This unique book provides a clear and lucid description of several aspects of astrophysics and cosmology in a language understandable to a physicist or beginner in astrophysics. It presents the key topics in all branches of astrophysics and cosmology in a simple and concise language. The emphasis is on currently active research areas and exciting new frontiers rather than on more pedantic topics. Many complicated results are introduced with simple, novel derivations which strengthen the conceptual understanding of the subject. The book also contains over one hundred exercises which will help students in their self study.Undergraduate and graduate students in physics and astrophysics as well as all physicists who are interested in obtaining a quick grasp of astrophysical concepts will find this book useful.