World Politics in the 21st century

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Bibliographic Information

World Politics in the 21st century

W. Raymond Duncan, Barbara Jancar-Webster, Bob Switky

Longman, c2002

  • : student ed

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World Politics in the twenty-first century

Available at  / 3 libraries

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Includes indexes

Description and Table of Contents

Description

This exciting new introduction to world politics features a unique active learning approach that helps students better understand IR and includes current, 21st century topics often neglected in other texts. Lauded by reviewers for its strong scholarship and excellent attention to theory, World Politics in the 21st Century, includes comprehensive coverage of current topics that are often neglected in other texts-topics such as human rights, women, and poverty, to name just a few. This unparalleled coverage, in addition to the text's unique active learning approach, make it a text that is truly for the 21st century and its students. Because today's students learn and think differently than in the past, the authors present an active learning approach that begins with the instructor. An Instructor's Edition includes all the active learning techniques, suggestions and guidance a professor will need to utilize this approach in class. The active learning approach continues in the book itself through the unique question/answer format of the text. Rather than the typical topic and subtopic headings, the text poses questions then answers those questions, providing a continuous learning device that focuses student reading. The active learning approach is extended through the use of fascinating, current "Case Studies" at the end of each chapter, which ask students to apply concepts and analyze real world situations ripped from the headlines. In offering students an approach that helps them better make sense of the complexity of international relations and in providing them unique coverage of important issues in today's world, this is a text that is sure to engage students in the study of IR.

Table of Contents

I. THE STRUCTURE AND ACTORS OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS. 1. The Importance of International Relations. Why study International Relations? What is the difference between international relations and comparative government? Why are current events so complex? What are the new forces shaping the planet? How can I make sense of the changes in the world? Chapter Summary. Case Study: India and Pakistan Nuclear Issues. 2. The State and Its Role in the International System. What is a state and how did it come to play such an important role? How do we define a state and what are its primary characteristics? What is the difference between a nation-state and a multinational state? How did the state come into being? What exactly is the international system? What are the levels of analysis and how do they help us understand the international system? The International System as a Whole. What is the regional level of analysis and who are the actors? What does the state level of analysis enable us to investigate? What do we know about the substate level of analysis? Why might people not want to live together? Who are the actors at the individual level of analysis? What can be said of the role of more average people in the world today? How do we use the levels of analysis? Chapter Summary. Case Study: Should Chechnya be independent of Russia? 3. Power Factors in International Relations. What is power and how is it defined? What are the major characteristics of power? What are the major objective power capabilities? What are the major subjective power capabilities? How does power change over time? What is the impact of change in the global distribution of power? What does the term balance of power mean? How is balance of power different from collective security? Which states are tomorrow's great powers and super powers? Chapter Summary. Case Study: The next balance of power. 4. Foreign Policy Formation and Execution. Introduction: What exactly is foreign policy? What have been the consequences for foreign policy after the Cold War? What goals and objectives do states pursue in foreign policy? What are the factors that influence foreign policy? What are some of the key issues associated with broader foreign policy goals? What has been the impact of the Cold War's end on American and Russian foreign policy? What in general do the foreign policies of other key countries look like in the early 21st century? Chapter Summary. Case Study. 5. Intergovernmental Actors. Introduction. Why would a country join an international intergovernmental organization? Why are intergovernmentalism and supranationalism important? Intergovernmental organizations that are global in scope. Why have international financial and trade organizations? Regional international organization. Single Purpose Intergovernmental Organizations. Chapter Summary. Case Study: The Influence of the UN. 6. Corporate and Non-governmental Actors. The Growing Visibility of NGOs. Diversity among NGOs. Why are there so many NGOs? What do non-governmental actors do? Why is there state opposition to NGOs? What kinds of corporate actors operate in the international arena? How powerful are corporate actors and what kinds of influence do they have on nation-states? Terrorism. Conclusion. Chapter Summary. Case Study: US Prepares for Terrorist Attacks. II. SELECTED GLOBAL ISSUES. 7. Political Geography. What specific geographical and topological factors does a political geography worldview speak to when addressing international issues? Political Geography of Transportation and Communications. Where do geopolitics and geostrategies come into play? What is Geoeconomics? What is the difference between older and current versions of geopolitics? How have geopolitical views affected world politics? What do maps and map statistics tell us about geopolitics? Why do territorial factors dramatically affect a country's national interests? States and Geopolitics. Where do we see geostrategy and geoeconomics operating today? How do geopolitical factors help explain conflict in international relations? What are some of the core geopolitical concepts used to explain conflict in international relations? What are the geopolitical ramifications of world religions? Do natural disasters have geopolitical consequences? What is the impact of climate on international politics? What is the future of geopolitics in international affairs? Chapter Summary. Case Study: Bracing for Crisis. 8. Nationalism, Regionalism, Tribalism. What is nationalism? Where does nationalism fit in the study of international relations? What are the origins of nationalism? In what ways does nationalism vary from one region of the world to the next? What are the positive and negative effects of nationalism? How have national leaders used the emotion of nationalism in foreign policy? What has been the impact of nationalism on world politics? What is transnationalism and how is it different from nationalism? What is regionalism and how does it affect international relations? What is Tribalism? What has been the impact of tribalism within the international system? Chapter Summary. Case Study: Europe After Communism. 9. Global Violence: Wars, Weapons, Terrorism. Introduction. What are the causes of war? What is the difference between immediate and underlying causes of war? What are the different kinds of weapons of mass destruction? What are conventional and unconventional weapons? Why are there so many weapons available everywhere around the world? What are the threats from terrorists? What efforts have been made to control the spread of weapons? Controlling global violence. Chapter Summary. Case Study: National missile defense. 10. Global Justice: Women, Poverty, Human Rights. Introduction: Are women, poverty and human rights global problems we should worry about? What is global justice and can it ever be achieved? How does the women's movement relate to global justice? Who were some of the famous women in history? What changes could women bring to the study of international relations and to solutions to international problems? What is the relation between social justice, women's rights and poverty? What can be done about poverty? What is the international community doing about poverty? Should the UN or NATO intervene militarily in a member state if human rights are being violated? Chapter Summary. Case Study. 11. International Political Economy I: The Advanced Industrial Countries. What is International Political Economy? How Can We Make Sense of IPE? The Legacy of Bretton Woods. The international trading system. The international monetary system. The importance of corporate actors. The importance of the international oil industry. Chapter Summary. Case Study: US Trade with China. 12. International Political Economy II: The Politics of Development. What are the major characteristics of underdevelopment? What is development? What is the Third World? Explaining Development: Why are there rich and poor countries? What is meant by the politics of development? What factors shape the politics of development? What is the connection between democracy and economic development? How does non-Western political thought affect politics and development? How has globalization impacted the politics of development? What have been the consequences of ethnic and religious conflict for Third World development? How has the end of the Cold War shaped the politics of development? What are the prospects for Third World development in the future? Chapter Summary. Case Study: The global reach of the Asian financial crisis. 13. The Global Environment and the Population Problem. Is there a global environmental problem? What environmental factors help explain why human society first arose when it did, and how do these same factors contribute to global environmental inequity today? How have the industrial and scientific revolutions mattered? What is the impact of sanitation, disease, and modern medicine? Is population growth still a problem? What is the impact of technology on planet Earth? Is our planet really warming? Are we using too much energy? What's wrong with using lots of energy and can we replace polluting forms of energy? What are the global commons? What are the world's water problems? What is the international community doing about the global water problem? What are the green and biotech revolutions? Can we agree on a common strategy? Chapter Summary. Case Study: International regulation of genetically engineered foods. III. CONCLUSION. 14. Conclusion. Review the main points from each chapter. Discussion questions about the future of international relations.

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