The moral purpose of the state : culture, social identity, and institutional rationality in international relations / Christian Reus-Smit.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Reus-Smit, Christian, 1961-

Series:

Princeton studies in international history and politics.

Princeton studies in international history and politics

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

International relations--Moral and ethical aspects.

International relations.

International relations and culture.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (214 p.)

Edition:

Core Textbook

Place of Publication:

Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, c1999.

Language Note:

English

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Summary:

This book seeks to explain why different systems of sovereign states have built different types of fundamental institutions to govern interstate relations. Why, for example, did the ancient Greeks operate a successful system of third-party arbitration, while international society today rests on a combination of international law and multilateral diplomacy? Why did the city-states of Renaissance Italy develop a system of oratorical diplomacy, while the states of absolutist Europe relied on naturalist international law and "old diplomacy"? Conventional explanations of basic institutional practices have difficulty accounting for such variation. Christian Reus-Smit addresses this problem by presenting an alternative, "constructivist" theory of international institutional development, one that emphasizes the relationship between the social identity of the state and the nature and origin of basic institutional practices. Reus-Smit argues that international societies are shaped by deep constitutional structures that are based on prevailing beliefs about the moral purpose of the state, the organizing principle of sovereignty, and the norm of procedural justice. These structures inform the imaginations of institutional architects as they develop and adjust institutional arrangements between states. As he shows with detailed reference to ancient Greece, Renaissance Italy, absolutist Europe, and the modern world, different cultural and historical contexts lead to profoundly different constitutional structures and institutional practices. The first major study of its kind, this book is a significant addition to our theoretical and empirical understanding of international relations, past and present.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Table and Figures

Preface / Reus-Smit, Christian

Introduction

Chapter One. The Enigma of Fundamental Institutions

Chapter Two. The Constitutional Structure of International Society

Chapter Three. Ancient Greece

Chapter Four. Renaissance Italy

Chapter Five. Absolutist Europe

Chapter Six. Modern International Society

Chapter Seven. Conclusion

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 08. Jul 2019)

ISBN:

9786612753831

9781400806461

1400806461

9781282753839

1282753835

9781400823253

1400823250

9781400813087

1400813085

OCLC:

700688675