Essentials of international relations / Karen A. Mingst, Ivan M. Arregu{u2A6E}-Toft.

Preface -- Approaches to international relations. International relations in daily life ; Thinking theoretically ; Developing the answers ; In sum : Making sense of international relations ; Where do we go from here? -- The historical context of contemporary international relations. The pre-Westphalian world ; The emergence of the Westphalian system ; Europe in the nineteenth century ; The interwar years and World War II ; The Cold War ; The post-Cold War era ; Explaining the end of the Cold War : a view from the former Soviet Union ; In sum : Learning from history -- Contending perspectives : how to think about international relations theoretically. Thinking theoretically ; Theory and the levels of analysis ; Realism and neorealism ; Liberalism and neoliberal institutionalism ; The radical perspective ; Constructivism ; Theory in action : analyzing the 2003 Iraq War ; Canadian views of the war in Afghanistan ; In sum : Seeing the world through theoretical lenses -- The international system. The notion of a system ; The international system according to realists ; The international system according to liberals ; The international system according to radicals ; Constructivism and change ; Advantages and disadvantages of the international system as a level of analysis ; The international system : a view from China ; In sum : From the international system to the state -- The state. The state and the nation ; Contending conceptualizations of the state ; The nature of state power ; The exercise of state power ; Models of foreign-policy decision making ; Challenges to the state ; The Taliban in Pakistan : a challenge to the Pakistani state? ; In sum : The state and challenges beyond -- The individual. Foreign-policy elites : individuals who matter ; A view from Venezuela : Hugo Chav́ez ; Private individuals ; Mass publics ; In sum : How much do individuals matter? -- Intergovernmental organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and international law. Intergovernmental organizations ; Nongovernmental organizations ; NGOs : views from the former Soviet states ; International law ; Realist views of international organization and law ; The radical view of international organization and law ; The constructivist view of international organization and law ; In sum : Do intergovernmental organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and international law make a difference? -- War and strife. The causes of war ; Categorizing wars ; How wars are fought ; Going nuclear : a view from Iran ; The just war tradition ; Approaches to managing insecurity ; In sum : A changing view of international security -- International political economy. The evolution of the international economy : clashing ideas and practice ; The basis of the contemporary international economy ; How the globalized economy works today ; Critics of international economy liberalism ; The key roles of petroleum markets ; Economic globalization and regionalism ; Emerging challenges to economic globalization ; The global economic crisis of 2008 : a view from African states -- Transnational issues. Health and communicable diseases : protecting life in the global commons ; The environment : protecting the global commons ; The environment : a view from Indonesia ; Human rights : protecting human dignity ; Transnational crime ; The impact of transnational issues ; Will transnational issues lead to global governance? ; In sum : Changing you -- Glossary.

Includes bibliographical references and index.