World of Our Making: Rules and Rule in Social Theory and International Relations. By Nicholas Greenwood Onuf. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1989. Pp. xiii, 341. Index.

1992 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 179-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Carty
Keyword(s):  
South Carolina ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Columbia University ◽  
University Of South Carolina

International Relations and the Challenge of Postmodernism: Defending the Discipline. By D. S. L. Jarvis, Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2000. 288p. $34.95.

2001 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 259-260
Author(s):  
Jeffrey W. Taliaferro
Keyword(s):  
South Carolina ◽  
International Relations ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Columbia University ◽  
University Of South Carolina ◽  
New Politics ◽  
The Past ◽  
Critical Theories ◽  
Marginalized Groups ◽  
Sociological Approaches

Over the past twenty years, the so-called third debate, or the constructivist turn in international relations theory, has elic- ited a great deal of attention. Various critical theories and epistemologies-sociological approaches, postmodernism, constructivism, neo-Marxism, feminist approaches, and cul- tural theories-seem to dominate the leading international relations journals. Postmodernism (also called critical theo- ry), perhaps the most radical wave of the third debate, uses literary theory to challenge the notion of an "objective" reality in world politics, reject the notion of legitimate social science, and seek to overturn the so-called dominant dis- courses in the field in favor of a new politics that will give voice to previously marginalized groups.

Polities: Authority, Identities, and Change. By Yale H. Ferguson and Richard W. Mansbach. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1996. 476p. $49.95 cloth, $24.95 paper.

2001 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 253-254
Author(s):  
Claudio Cioffi-Revilla
Keyword(s):  
Complex System ◽  
South Carolina ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Empirical Investigation ◽  
Levels Of Analysis ◽  
Columbia University ◽  
University Of South Carolina ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Frame Work

This complex, ambitious, and large book seeks to question, reformulate, and enhance the scope (and methods) of inter- national relations theories, particularly those formulated within a realist framework. The authors question that frame- work, the Westphalian model of putatively unitary nation- states, quantitative methods of empirical investigation, and the levels-of-analysis paradigm. The breadth of their critique is extensive and, consequently, highly ambitious. Rather than approach international relations as a system of unitary nation-states inspired by realist principles, which is arguably a partial and simplified portrayal of contemporary research, the authors favor a complex system of "overlapping, layered, and linked polities" that have both horizontal and vertical dimensions. The latter dimension is particularly important, as it concerns patterns of authority, identity (including ethnic- ity), and institutions that compete for the loyalty of individ- uals.

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