Overview
Provides inventory of different polarity definitions and their application to the 19th century and the post-Cold War era
Offers an analysis of the French multipolar discourse and its comparison with the American (non)-use of polarity
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Table of contents (9 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Polarity, Neorealism and its Problems
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Front Matter
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Polarity in the Cold War, the 19th Century and Today
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Front Matter
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Nineteenth-Century Balance of Power and Twenty-First-Century Multipolarity
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Front Matter
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Conclusions
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
About this book
This book discusses the rise of polarity as a key concept in International Relations Theory. Since the end of the Cold War, until at least the end of 2010, there has been a wide consensus shared by American academics, political commentators and policy makers: the world was unipolar and would remain so for some time. By contrast, outside the US, a multipolar interpretation prevailed. This volume explores this contradiction and questions the Neorealist claim that polarity is the central structuring element of the international system. Here, the author analyses different historic eras through a polarity lens, compares the way polarity is used in the French and US public discourses, and through careful examination, reaches the conclusion that polarity terminology as a theoretical concept is highly influenced by the Cold War context in which it emerged. This volume is an important resource for students and researchers with a critical approach to Neorealism, and to those interested in the defining shifts the world went through during the last twenty five years.
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Goedele De Keersmaeker is a researcher at the Ghent Institute of International Studies (GIIS). She is a former director of the International Peace Information Service (Antwerp) and of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly (Prague). Goedele has a vast experience of educational writing on international relations and security, with particular research interests in a historical approach to international relations.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Polarity, Balance of Power and International Relations Theory
Book Subtitle: Post-Cold War and the 19th Century Compared
Authors: Goedele De Keersmaeker
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42652-5
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Political Science and International Studies, Political Science and International Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-42651-8Published: 15 December 2016
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-82628-8Published: 04 July 2018
eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-42652-5Published: 04 December 2016
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XI, 247
Topics: Political Theory, International Relations, Political History, US Politics, European Politics