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Cover

World Politics in a New Era

Sixth Edition

Steven L. Spiegel, Elizabeth G. Matthews, Jennifer M. Taw, and Kristen P. Williams

Publication Date - 06 December 2013

ISBN: 9780199965625

592 pages
Paperback
7-1/2 x 9-1/4 inches

In Stock

This in-depth introduction provides students with the solid theoretical and historical foundations necessary to analyze contemporary issues

Description

A uniquely in-depth treatment of the field, World Politics in a New Era, Sixth Edition, features extensive historical coverage that ranges from the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 to the present, offering students the best context to fully comprehend the modern political stage. It focuses on levels of analysis (systemic, domestic, and individual) in relation to major IR theories (realism, liberalism, and constructivism) and gives students the analytical tools to apply the theories to current issues. The authors integrate coverage of the competing threads of globalization and fragmentation throughout, examining how they tangle and weave through studies of global politics, economics, and culture.

FEATURES

"At a Glance" text boxes apply the theories and levels of analysis--individual, domestic, and systemic--to each chapter's theme

"What Would You Do?" boxes profile real-life events, asking students to play the role of a world leader/decision maker and propose a solution that takes into account the many complexities of world politics

"Spotlight" features in every chapter highlight interesting people, places, and situations; discuss important international events and colorful personalities in greater depth; or focus on specific facets of complex conflicts or theories


Package this text with Oxford Pocket World Atlas, any title from our Very Short Introductions series, or Now Playing: Learning Global Politics Through Film for FREE! Please contact your Oxford University Press Sales Representative or call 800.280.0280 for details.

New to this Edition

  • Thoroughly updated to reflect the Arab Spring, the "Great Recession," the Eurozone financial crisis, and other recent events
  • Chapters on security (7 & 8) are brand-new in terms of both theory and empirical review
  • An updated Companion Website offers resources for students and instructors

About the Author(s)

Steven L. Spiegel is Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for Middle East Development at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Elizabeth G. Matthews is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at California State University San Marcos.

Jennifer M. Taw is Associate Professor of Government in the International Relations Program at Claremont McKenna College.

Kristen P. Williams is Professor of Political Science at Clark University.

Previous Publication Date(s)

February 2011
April 2008
August 2003

Reviews

"World Politics in a New Era is a thoroughly comprehensive and highly readable account of international relations with a focus on contemporary issues of security, scarce resources, and cooperation dilemmas."--Jeffrey Lewis, Cleveland State University

"This text provides the broadest and most balanced introduction to the subject."--Michael Corgan, Boston University

Table of Contents

    Each chapter ends with Discussion and Review Questions and Key Terms.
    Maps
    Special Features
    Preface
    PART 1. FOUNDATIONS OF WORLD POLITICS
    CHAPTER 1. WORLD POLITICS: COMPLEXITY AND COMPETING PROCESSES
    CONFLICT AND COOPERATION
    GLOBALIZATION VERSUS FRAGMENTATION
    ANARCHY VERSUS ORDER
    CONCLUSION
    * WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Iran's Nuclear Test
    CHAPTER 2. THEORY AND WORLD POLITICS
    CLIMATE CHANGE
    LEVELS OF ANALYSIS
    Systemic Level of Analysis
    AT A GLANCE: The Prisoner's Dilemma Game
    Domestic Level of Analysis
    Individual Level of Analysis
    SPOTLIGHT: The Operational Code
    Levels of Analysis: Analytical Tools
    THEORETICAL PARADIGMS/WORLDVIEWS
    Realism
    Liberalism
    Constructivism
    Blurring the Lines
    Other Theoretical Paradigms/Worldviews
    * THEORY IN REVIEW: International Responses to Climate Change
    SUMMARY AND PREVIEW
    * WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Giant Storms
    CHAPTER 3. WORLD POLITICS AND ECONOMICS: 1648-1945
    THIRTY YEARS' WAR AND THE PEACE OF WESTPHALIA
    EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY EUROPE
    Great Powers
    Aftermath of War and Two Revolutions
    AT A GLANCE: "World Wars" of the Eighteenth Century
    NAPOLEONIC ERA AND ITS AFTERMATH
    Concert of Europe
    Unification of Italy and Germany
    THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND ITS AFTERMATH
    British Economic Hegemony and Its Challenges
    THE BISMARCKIAN SYSTEM AND THE EVE OF WAR
    THE WORLD WARS
    Causes of World War I and the Levels of Analysis
    Consequences of World War I
    Russian Revolution
    Versailles Settlement
    WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Russia and the Path to War
    A Weak League and the Road to Another War
    SPOTLIGHT: The Munich Analogy
    Economic Collapse and the Great Depression
    Causes of World War II and the Levels of Analysis
    Consequences of World War II
    Uneasy Alliance
    The Holocaust
    Atomic Bomb
    CONCLUSION
    * THEORY IN REVIEW: Examples from 1648 to 1945
    CHAPTER 4. WORLD POLITICS AND ECONOMICS: THE COLD WAR
    CAUSES OF THE OF THE COLD WAR AND THE LEVELS OF ANALYSIS
    It Was Moscow's Fault (Domestic Level)
    No, It Was Washington's Fault (Domestic Level)
    Ideological Conflict (Domestic Level)
    Leadership or the Lack Thereof (Individual Level)
    One World Divided by Two Superpowers Equals Conflict (Systemic Level)
    It Was All a Misunderstanding (Systemic Level)
    POLITICAL, MILITARY, AND ECONOMIC CHANGE
    Initial Confrontation: Iran
    The Iron Curtain Descends and Conflict Intensifies
    Truman Doctrine
    Marshall Plan
    Berlin Blockade
    NATO and the Warsaw Pact
    Transformation of the World Economy
    SPOTLIGHT: The Telegrams: Mr. X and Containment and the Novikov Telegram
    THE COLD WAR IN ASIA AND THE THIRD WORLD
    NSC-68
    Korea: The Turning Point
    The Third World
    TROUBLE SPOTS: BERLIN, CUBA, AND VIETNAM
    Berlin
    Cuba
    WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Soviet Missiles in Cuba
    Vietnam and Its Consequences
    FROM DÉTENTE TO DISCORD
    The Opening of China, the Moscow Summit, and SALT
    Tensions in Détente
    * AT A GLANCE: Major Arms Control Agreements of the Cold War
    The Invasion of Afghanistan
    The Reagan Doctrine
    END OF THE COLD WAR AND THE LEVELS OF ANALYSIS
    The Gorbachev Factor (Individual Level)
    Failure of Communism (Domestic Level)
    The End of the Evil Empire (Domestic Level)
    The End of Bipolarity (Systemic Level)
    CONCLUSION
    * THEORY IN REVIEW: Examples from the Cold War
    CHAPTER 5. IMPERIALISM AND ITS SURVIVORS
    THE RISE AND FALL OF EMPIRES
    The First Transoceanic Empires: Spain and Portugal
    Spanish Colonial Administration
    Portuguese Colonialism
    Spanish-American Independence
    Independence from Portugal
    Dutch Empire
    French Empire
    British Empire
    WHAT WOULD YOU DO? The Costs of Imperialism
    Two Great Continental Empires: Russia and the United States
    SPOTLIGHT: The Mahatma
    The Russians
    The Americans
    Ottoman Empire
    Too Little, Too Late: German and Japanese Empires
    DECLINE OF IMPERIALISM
    IMPACTS OF IMPERIALISM
    * Social Impact of Colonialism
    * AT A GLANCE: Human Costs of Imperialism
    North America
    The Caribbean
    Latin America
    Africa
    Asia
    The Pacific
    China and Japan
    Economic Consequences of Colonialism
    Latin America, Africa, and the Pacific
    Asia
    Economic Consequences: An Assessment
    Cultural and Ideological Impact of Colonialism
    Colonialism and Culture
    Colonialism and Ideology
    CONCLUSION
    * THEORY IN REVIEW: Examples from Imperialism
    CHAPTER 6. GLOBALIZATION AND FRAGMENTATION IN A NEW WORLD ORDER: 1991 TO THE PRESENT
    GLOBALIZATION AND FRAGMENTATION
    * Fukuyama Versus Huntington
    * Promise Unfulfilled? US Hegemony
    A NEW WORLD ORDER?
    War in the Gulf
    The European Union
    US Economic Hegemony Endures
    * The United Nations, Collective Security, and Humanitarian Intervention
    SPOTLIGHT: Definitional Discord: Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing
    WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Genocide in Rwanda
    THE TERROR OF SEPTEMBER 11 AND ITS AFTERMATH
    War in Iraq
    * The Great Recession and Debt Crisis in the European Union
    * Arab Spring
    The Role of Nonstate Actors
    * AT A GLANCE: Arab Spring
    CONCLUSION
    THEORY IN REVIEW: Examples from 1991 to the Present
    PART 2. THE MAJOR ISSUES IN WORLD POLITICS
    CHAPTER 7. SECURITY THEORY AND PRACTICE
    REQUIREMENTS FOR SECURITY
    ELEMENTS OF POWER
    Economic Capabilities
    Military Power
    Measuring Military Capabilities
    Benefits of Maintaining a Military
    * AT A GLANCE: Military Balance: The US and Other Key Countries
    Costs of Maintaining a Military
    Political Will
    SPOTLIGHT: Clausewitz on War and Politics
    INTERSTATE WAR
    INTRASTATE WARS
    HUMAN SECURITY
    * THEORY IN REVIEW: Security
    * WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Challenges of Influence
    CHAPTER 8. CONTEMPORARY SECURITY ISSUES
    TRENDS IN SECURITY
    Changing Strategies
    United States
    China
    SPOTLIGHT: 9 Tales of Broken Arrows: Thermonuclear Near Misses Throughout History
    African Union
    Transnational Terrorist Organizations
    AT A GLANCE: International Drug Trafficking
    Changing Technologies
    FUTURE CHALLENGES
    CONCLUSION
    WHAT WOULD YOU DO? China's Balancing Act
    * THEORY IN REVIEW: Nuclear Security
    CHAPTER 9. WORLD POLITICS: TRADE AND INVESTMENT
    TRADE
    Ricardo's Model of Trade
    Trade Barriers
    Balance of Payments
    MONEY MAKES THE WORLD GO AROUND
    Exchange Rates
    Capital Markets and Investment
    Capital Markets
    * SPOTLIGHT: "Financial Contagion in the Era of Globalized Banking"
    China's Influence on the US Economy
    FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT
    ECONOMIC POWER
    Trade and Industry
    Technology
    ECONOMICS AS POLITICS
    Realism
    Liberalism
    AT A GLANCE: The Euro's Ups and Downs (and Ups!)
    Hegemonic Stability Theory: Bridging the Liberal-Realist Divide
    Constructivism
    CONCLUSION
    THEORY IN REVIEW: Trade and Investment
    WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Greece's Debt Crisis
    CHAPTER 10. WORLD POLITICS: DEVELOPMENT
    WHAT DEVELOPMENT MEANS
    HUMAN AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
    Development: A Holistic Approach
    Civil Society and Development
    Modernization Theory
    Social Impact of Modernization
    Critiques of Modernization Theory
    POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT
    * Democratization
    Domestic: Political Culture
    * SPOTLIGHT: Tough Truths About Free Trade
    ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
    Systemic: Dependency Theory
    Primary Product Exports
    Unequal Terms of Trade
    Transnational Corporations
    Critiques of Dependency Theory
    Domestic: Economic Development Theories
    Import-Substitution Industrialization
    Export-Led Industrialization
    Washington Consensus
    Systemic-Domestic
    Structural Adjustment Programs
    Economic Liberalism, Women, and Development
    DEVELOPMENT TODAY
    Creating a New Paradigm
    Searching for Practical Solutions: Technology
    Searching for Practical Solutions: Microfinance
    * AT A GLANCE: Cell Phones and Development
    Corruption Versus Courage
    * WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Promoting Development
    * THEORY IN REVIEW: Development
    CONCLUSION
    CHAPTER 11. HUMAN ISSUES: DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS
    POPULATION
    Population Growth and Decline: Impact of Youth Bulges and Aging Populations
    Urbanization and Megacities
    International Responses to Population Dynamics: Importance of Family Planning
    The Abortion Debate
    MIGRATION
    Economic Migration
    Refugees
    Consequences of Migration
    International Solutions to Problems of Migration
    SPOTLIGHT: Human Trafficking
    HEALTH AND DISEASE
    The Global Health Picture
    Responses to Global Health Problems
    WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Avian Flu
    THEORY IN REVIEW: Demographic Issues
    CONCLUSION
    CHAPTER 12. RESOURCE ISSUES
    THE ENVIRONMENT
    Deforestation
    Pollution
    * SPOTLIGHT: Women, Gender, and the Environment
    International Cooperation for Saving the Environment
    A Green and Pleasant Globe?
    WATER
    Water Scarcity and the Potential for Conflict
    International Responses to the Need for Water
    Water's Future
    FOOD
    Feeding the World
    International Food Aid and Famine Relief Efforts
    ENERGY
    The Need for Energy
    Oil's Critical Role
    Energy Crises and Global Responses
    Coal and Natural Gas
    Renewable Energy
    CONCLUSION
    WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Economic Growth Versus the Environment
    THEORY IN REVIEW: Resource Issues
    CHAPTER 13. GLOBAL GOVERNANCE: INTERNATIONAL LAW AND ORGANIZATIONS
    INTERNATIONAL LAW
    Sources of International Law
    Customary Practices
    Treaties
    Violation and Compliance
    Areas of International Law
    Human Rights Under International Law
    Can Human Rights Conventions Be Enforced?
    Warfare and Aggression
    Effectiveness and Compliance: The Verdict on International Law
    INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
    International Governmental Organizations
    Security IGOS: The United Nations
    The United Nations Is Born
    The United Nations: Structure, Functions, and Politics
    General Assembly
    Security Council
    SPOTLIGHT: Confict and Cooperation in the Security Council
    Secretariat and Secretary-General
    International Court of Justice
    Economic and Social Council
    UN Peacekeeping Missions: Expectations and Experience
    United Nations' Effectiveness
    WHAT WOULD YOU DO? The Future of the UN
    Economic IGOs
    The World Bank
    The International Monetary Fund
    The GATT and the WTO
    The Bretton Woods Institutions into the Future
    Nongovernmental Organizations
    NGOs, Power, and Global Governance
    NGOs in Action
    CONCLUSION
    THEORY IN REVIEW: Global Governance
    CHAPTER 14. WORLD POLITICS IN CONTEXT
    WHAT HAVE WE COVERED SO FAR?
    WHAT HAVE WE NOT YET COVERED?
    Ethics
    Ethics of War
    Ethics of Sovereignty and Positive Intervention
    Ethics of Peace and Reconciliation
    Ethics of Trade and Development
    Ethics of Competing Interests
    SPOTLIGHT: Bad Guys Make Even Worse Allies
    Relationship of World Politics to Other Subdisciplines of Political Science
    Foreign Policy
    Comparative Politics
    American Politics
    Political Theory
    THE FUTURE
    Realist Projection
    Liberal Projection
    Constructivist Projection
    * WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Crisis in Syria: Ethics of Intervention
    CONCLUSION
    Notes
    Glossary
    Sources of Illustrations
    Index

Teaching Resources

  • An updated Companion Website at www.oup.com/us/spiegel 
  • An updated Instructor Support Package that includes an Instructor's Manual with Test Bank and a completely new International Relations CNN Video DVD and Instructor's Video Guide

Packages

Package this text with Oxford Pocket World Atlas, any title from our Very Short Introductions series, or Now Playing: Learning Global Politics Through Film for FREE! Please contact your Oxford University Press Sales Representative or call 800.280.0280 for details.

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