Reviews for A history of international relations theory

The average rating for A history of international relations theory based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-02-09 00:00:00 Kane Colby So this book basically delivers on its title – it is a history of the development of the field of study which we today label International Relations theory (IR). Notwithstanding, Knutsen's project is not to narrate the historic tradition of international relations, but its analytic tradition, which he argues began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire. I wasn't thoroughly convinced about that, but the first chapters nevertheless elegantly chronicles the origins of pre-Westphalian theories of IR, which with a few exceptions shortly can be summed up as: God. The history of IR since 1648 is structured more or less as one would expect. The author does a good job of identifying recurring themes and developments, tie them into their historic backdrop and all the while writing in an engaging manner. The last chapter is a bit dated and coloured by its time of writing, but brings up some interesting debates that still preoccupy the academic field today. A thorough and accessible read, but I feel it should be noted that this book is entirely conserned with Western notions of international order, it doesn't even mention East Asia and its Sino-centric tributary system. Islamic notions are covered briefly early on, at the point of time of the initial Arab conquests, but are not brought up again later.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-09-01 00:00:00 Suzanne Lewis Marvelous! loved it!