Theory and history in international relations / by Donald J. Puchala.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Puchala, Donald James, 1939-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

International relations--Philosophy.

International relations.

International relations--History.

History.

Physical Description:

xi, 271 pages ; 24 cm

Other Title:

Theory & history in international relations

Place of Publication:

New York : Routledge, 2003.

Summary:

"Theory and History in International Relations" is an eloquent plea to scholars of global politics to turn away from the "manufacture" of data and return to a systematic study of history as a basic for theory. While the modest use of empiricism will always be important, Puchala rejects the logical positivism of the so-called "scientific revolution" in the field in favor of a more complex, even intuitive, vision of global politics. He addresses the potential uses of history in studying some of the major debates of our time-the Cold War as a struggle between empires, the collision of civilizations, cultural encounters and colonies in the ancient world, and liberal approaches to the understanding of history and ethnical contributions to the dialogue over theory.

Contents:

2 International Relations Theory in Perspective 14

3 The Pragmatics of International History 33

4 International Theory and Cyclical History 51

5 The Tragedy of War and the Search for Meaning in International History 73

6 The Dancing Dinosaurs of the Cold War 94

7 International Encounters of Another Kind 119

8 Colonization and Culture in the Ancient World 143

9 Myth, History, and Morality 164

10 Liberal Theory and Linear History 189

11 Beyond the Divided Discipline 214.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [251]-262) and index.

ISBN:

0415945356

0415945364

OCLC:

51983201