Charles Jones - International Relations: A Beginners Guide

International
Relations

A Beginners Guide

ONEWORLD BEGINNERS GUIDES combine an original, inventive, and engaging approach with expert analysis on subjects ranging from art and history to religion and politics, and everything in-between. Innovative and affordable, books in the series are perfect for anyone curious about the way the world works and the big ideas of our time.

A Oneworld Paperback Original

First published by Oneworld Publications, 2014

Copyright Charles Jones 2014

The moral right of Charles Jones to be identified as the Author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

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from the British Library

ISBN 978-1-78074-303-5
eISBN 978-1-78074-304-2

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To Linda Jones

Note: Unless otherwise indicated, dollars ($) are US dollars,
1 billion = 1,000,000,000 (1 10) and
1 trillion = 1,000,000,000,000 (1 10).

1. The relative frequency of International Relations, International Studies, International Politics, and International Affairs in English, 19402000

2. Ratio of United States merchandise trade to GDP at current prices, 19132006

3. Share of developed countries in world stocks of FDI (%age), 19902010

4. Outward flows of FDI in US $ billions at current prices and exchange rates, and as %age of world total, selected years 19702010

5. Cross-border transactions in bonds and equities as %age of GDP, 19801998

6. The wartime mobilization of women

7. Inter-state wars since 1945

A bland introduction to any field of study without an argument to engage the attention of the reader would be very dull. This book has two.

The first is that International Relations deserves attention precisely because it is not a discipline marked off from other fields by its subject matter or method; nor is it a sub-discipline of political science. I have taken care to provide a basic outline of the growth of the modern states-system and the world economy, the rise of international organizations of every sort, and some principal tendencies in global society. However, social sciences such as economics or politics that begin by abstracting their subject matter from society as a whole in order to apply a distinctive method run a serious risk of losing in relevance what they gain in elegance. The messier, more eclectic approach of International Relations looks not only to history, economics, politics, and law its old companions but beyond them to social anthropology, sociology, and literary and cultural studies. It is perhaps closer in spirit to its purer cousins, contemporary laboratory sciences, where it is commonplace for investigators faced with a new problem to seek new techniques and new kit to tackle it.

The second argument is a call to resist the frequently drawn contrast between political realism and liberal internationalism. This continues to be widely regarded as the principal theoretical division of the field, even though many have challenged it. Realists and liberals are generally said to differ in world view and in their typical policy recommendations. Realists are a pessimistic bunch, at best doubtful about the prospects for international co-operation and progress. Liberals, by contrast, are generally said to be more optimistic (or credulous). Setting aside these differences in temperament, the division is better thought of as a disagreement about the appropriate scope of study. Realists, often identifying themselves with International Politics , opt for a narrow agenda; their critics prefer a broader one.