International Studies - Books by Region

Shawn C. Smallman and Kimberley Brown's popular introductory textbook for undergraduates in international and global studies is now released in a substantially revised and updated third edition. Encompassing the latest scholarship in what has become a markedly interdisciplinary endeavor and an increasingly chosen undergraduate major, the book introduces key concepts, themes, and issues and then examines each in lively chapters on essential topics, including the history of globalization; economic, political, and cultural globalization; security, energy, and development; health; agriculture and food; and the environment. Within these topics the authors explore such diverse and pressing subjects as commodity chains, labor (including present-day slavery), pandemics, human rights, and multinational corporations and the connections among them.

International Relations: A Very Short Introduction covers the topics essential to an understanding of modern international relations. It explains the theories and practice that underlie the subject, and investigates issues ranging from foreign policy, arms control, and terrorism, to the environment and world poverty.

Foreign Policy: From Conception to Diplomatic Practice represents an original and important contribution to the study of foreign policy, uniquely framed by the experiences of small and new countries. Ambassador Ernest Petrič artfully brings together academic expertise and years of diplomatic experience to provide a thorough treatment of national and international environments, the foreign policy decision making process and an original analysis of the means of foreign policy and diplomacy. The role of the United Nations, the EU, strategic actors and the role of foreign policy as a diplomatic instrument are examined.

International Relations offers a guide to the state of International Relations theory during the Cold War. It provides a critical commentary on the literature of the time and covers all aspects of this discipline in detail.

Recently, interest in international law has increased greatly, largely because of its central place in discussions such as the Iraq War, the World Trade Organization, the Kyoto Convention, the situations in Palestine and Darfur, and the plights of refugees and illegal immigrants around the world. International Law: A Very Short Introduction explains what international law is, its role in international society, and how it operates. It examines what international law can and cannot do and what it is and isn’t doing to make the world a better place.

In recent years, global migration has transformed in terms of its rising numbers and reach, its political significance, and its impact. The political and media attention on migration and greater public interest and concern feed into an international debate that is all too often poorly informed and one-sided. International Migration: A Very Short Introduction looks at the phenomenon of international human migration—both legal and illegal—and offers an objective stance on the topic, revealing the benefits and challenges that migration presents.

The discriminatory logic at the heart of multilateralism Member selection is one of the defining elements of social organization, imposing categories on who we are and what we do. Discriminatory Clubs shows how international organizations are like social clubs, ones in which institutional rules and informal practices enable states to favor friends while excluding rivals. Where race or socioeconomic status may be a basis for discrimination by social clubs, geopolitical alignment determines who gets into the room to make the rules of global governance. Christina Davis brings together a wealth of data on membership provisions for more than three hundred organizations to reveal the prevalence of club-style selection on the world stage.

The Routledge International Handbook of Globalization Studies offers students clear and informed chapters on the history of globalization and key theories that have considered the causes and consequences of the globalization process. There are substantive sections looking at demographic, economic, technological, social and cultural changes in globalization. The handbook examines many negative aspects - new wars, slavery, illegal migration, pollution and inequality - but concludes with an examination of responses to these problems through human rights organizations, international labour law and the growth of cosmopolitanism. There is a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary approaches with essays covering sociology, demography, economics, politics, anthropology and history. The Handbook, written in a clear and direct style, will appeal to a wide audience. The extensive references and sources will direct students to areas of further study.

This is an authoritative volume of historiographical essays that survey the state of U.S. diplomatic history. The essays cover the entire range of the history of American foreign relations from the colonial period to the present. They discuss the major sources and analyze the most influential books and articles in the field. Includes discussions of new methodological approaches in diplomatic history.