ABSTRACT

The Study of World Politics is two volume set that presents thirty-nine essays of some two hundred essays authored by Professor James Rosenau, a renowned international political theorist. They include both articles recently published and those that have not previously been published. All of them focus on the theme of the study of world politics, with the twenty-three articles in this volume devoted to probing theoretical and methodological challenges.

This volume is divided into five parts and address such issues as:

  • the challenge of world politics 
  • the professional political scientist
  • methods
  • concepts and theories
  • the analysis of foreign policy.

Included in this collection is perhaps James Rosenau’s most widely-read essay, ‘Pre-Theories and Theories of Foreign Policy’ as well as several essays that articulate various dimensions of global governance and how they are shaped by the dynamics of globalization. These articles are marked by unique and imaginative formulations which break with a number of conventional approaches employed in the fields of international relations and foreign policy.

The Study of World Politics provides the reader with access for the first time to a collection of James Rosenau’s outstanding scholarship, making this an invaluable book to students and academics with interests in politics.

chapter 1|4 pages

Introduction

part I|41 pages

The challenge

chapter 2|4 pages

The future of politics 1

chapter 4|6 pages

Rigid boundaries

States, societies, and international relations 1

chapter 5|8 pages

Powerful tendencies, startling discrepancies, and elusive dynamics

The challenge of studying world politics in a turbulent era 1

chapter 6|12 pages

Political science and political processes

Narrowing the gap? 1

part II|32 pages

The professional

chapter 9|20 pages

Courage versus caution

A dialogue on entering and prospering in IR 1 (co-authored with Ersel Aydinli)

part III|15 pages

Methods

chapter 11|10 pages

CFP and IPE

The anomaly of mutual boredom 1

part IV|73 pages

Concepts and theories

chapter 12|10 pages

The theoretical imperative

Unavoidable explication 1

chapter 13|13 pages

Many damn things simultaneously – at least for awhile

Complexity theory and world affairs 1

chapter 14|13 pages

Muddling, meddling, and modeling

Alternative approaches to the study of world politics in an era of rapid change 1

chapter 15|7 pages

Territorial affiliations and emergent roles

The shifting nature of identity in a globalizing world 1

part V|86 pages

The analysis of foreign policy

chapter 21|23 pages

China in a bifurcated world

Competing theoretical perspectives 1

chapter 22|17 pages

Toward single-country theories of foreign policy

The case of the USSR 1

chapter 23|9 pages

National interest 1