Student Book Features: 21st Century Issues in IR
The end of the Cold War led to the emergence of several areas of study that were somewhat muted in the era of superpower conflict.
Review – The Role of Energy in Russian Foreign Policy towards Kazakhstan
This in-depth study into the complex and multi-faceted aspect of the role of oil and gas in Russian foreign policy goes beyond the headlines, taking the reader through the hydrocarbon fields, and into the backroom of energy contract negotiations between the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan since 1991. It is recommended reading for all regional or country-experts and interested readers alike.
Interview – Gareth Evans
One of the most depressing, and distressing, realities we have to acknowledge has been our inability to prevent or halt the recurring horror of mass atrocity crimes.
Review – A Contest For Supremacy
Friedberg’s thesis is two-fold. First, he argues the United States and China are locked in a quiet but increasingly intense struggle for power and influence in Asia and across the globe, which will only become more acute as China continues to accumulate more power. Second, the emerging rivalry is not the result of easily erased misperceptions, but driven by power politics and differing ideologies
Review – The Future of Power
In ‘The Future of Power’, Joseph S. Nye outlines a synthesis of his more than two decades of scholarship on the future of world power politics. Nye explains how power works and how it is changing under the conditions of a burgeoning revolution in information technology, globalization, and the return of Asia in the 21st century.
Student Book Features: Two Essential IR Textbooks
Finding a good textbook to see you through your studies is no small matter. Books are not cheap, and a hasty purchase can be an expensive mistake.
e-IR Publication – The Sacred and the Sovereign
Religion has frequently shaped and reshaped state and interstate systems in various degrees. It will continue to be a valuable subject of academic debate among political scientists. In this downloadable collection, you will find seven articles, written by academics who tackle the subject of religion in international politics with diverse approaches.
Review – No Exit: North Korea, Nuclear Weapons and International Security
North Korea is of perennial security concern to both its neighbors and the United States. North Korea is the only state that has ever withdrawn from the Nonproliferation Treaty and reneged on every denuclearization agreement it had ever signed. In late 2010, satellite data indicated that North Korea possessed a uranium enrichment facility, and now a potential third nuclear test is underway.
Review – Pakistan: A Hard Country
Using an approach that is as much anthropological as it is historical or political, Anatol Lieven’s ‘Pakistan: A Hard Country’ provides a more intimate portrait of the country than other recent publications. It also lends a fresh perspective on a country that is often misunderstood by Western observers. The book’s central message is that Pakistan is cohesive and dysfunctional all at once.
Review – America’s Allies and War
The most outstanding aspect of ‘America’s Allies and War’ is the systematic and even-handed manner in which it demolishes popular notions of alliance politics, such as the depiction of European NATO allies as free-riding pacifists, whilst making an important theoretical contribution to the burden-sharing literature and International Relations scholarship in general.
