Expanding Realism The Historical Dimension of World Politics

by Liska, George

• ISBN13: 9780847686797
• ISBN10: 0847686795
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-02-26
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

In this engaging book, eminent scholar George Liska demonstrates the intricate and complex relationship between world politics and world history, and he proposes a systematic, but fundamentally new method of thinking about world politics. Building on ideas developed in his earlier works, particularly the legacy of the Cold War, Liska expands his "geopolitical" approach into a "geohistorical" one. Rejecting the idea that periods and events should be viewed as static, fixed structures, Liska's analysis reveals the cyclical nature of world history and develops a new kind of realism that encompasses the problems of expansion and evolution. This innovative book by a world renowned political thinker has far reaching implications that will be valuable to all students and scholars of international relations, world history, and the philosophy of history.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Introduction: From Realism to a Theory of World Politics?	1	(14)
Part I. Schematizing World Politics: Facets and Factors	15	(78)
1 Constituents of World Politics: Analytical and Operational	15	(34)
2 Dynamics and Dilemmas of World Politics: Geopolitical and Geoeconomic	49	(44)
Part II. Historicizing Geopolitics: Past and Prospects	93	(106)
3 Progression Contra Progress: Evolution through Adaptation	93	(58)
4 Projection Contra Prediction: Alternative Futures and Policy Options	151	(48)
Part III. Systematizing World Politics-in-World History: Integration and Synthesis	199	(72)
5 System of Thought versus Theory: Intergration and Distillation	199	(40)
6 Fractured Actuality and Synthesizing Strategy: Whither Ideal Polity?	239	(32)
Conclusion: Expanding Realism into Geohistoricism	271	(24)
List of Author's Works and Abbreviations	295	(2)
Index	297	(10)
About the Author	307