For students approaching the subject of international relations for the first time, this work covers the main theoretical approaches and shows how they can be applied to questions of war and peace, poverty and wealth, economic management and global governance.

Understanding International Relations is the third edition of a well-established advanced undergraduate and postgraduate text. It has been comprehensively updated to take into account recent literature on the theory of international relations, and events in the world, in particular 9/11 and the war on terror. New chapters have been added on the individual and international relations, identity and nationalism and the implications of US power in the twenty-first century.

The fourth edition of this well-established and popular introductory textbook has been updated to cover recent developments in the field of International Relations and world events, whilst still navigating the complexities of the discipline for new students. Brown and Ainley provide systematic coverage of the classical concerns of International Relations theory - power, national interest, foreign policy and war - alongside analysis of the impact of globalization on security, governance and the world economy. The authors actively avoid using a singular theoretical lens to conduct their survey, instead evaluating and using many throughout this book to further illustrate the nuances of the discipline. This is all while maintaining the focus on the discipline’s focus on real world events, with case studies ranging from the recent rise of China and Russia to the global economic downturn, to teach students how the discipline can be applied to understanding the central and difficult questions that the world faces today. Clear and accessible, but also critical and penetrating, this book is an essential text for undergraduate International Relations students today.

This textbook introduces students to the key changes in current global politics in order to help them make sense of major trends that are shaping our world. The emphasis on change in global politics helps students to recognize that genuinely new developments require citizens to change their beliefs and that new problems may appear even as old ones disappear. It is designed to encourage students to think ahead in new, open-minded ways, even as they come to understand the historical roots of the present. Key features: explains global politics using an historical approach assesses several types of theory so that students become aware of what theory is and why it is necessary for understanding global politics presents key aspects of global politics including the development of the nation-state, power, international law, war, foreign policy, security, terrorism, international organization, international political economy, the global south, the environment and globalization extensive pedagogy to reinforce learning - student activities, visual materials, definitions of key terms and names, learning boxes, cultural materials, key documents, annotated bibliography and website addresses (support website with lecturers' materials, datasets and updates). Introduction to Global Politics will be essential reading for students of political science, global politics and international relations.

Introduction to International Relations allows students to develop the theoretical framework they need to understand and engage with international relations.

How do we understand international relations in a globalized world? This clear and concise text takes as its starting point the theoretical frameworks that are the foundation of current IR. Joyce P. Kaufman explains and contextualizes the traditional theories, highlighting both their strengths and weaknesses. Her levels-of-analysis approach provides students with the basic tools for a more inclusive understanding of international politics by not forcing them to choose between competing theories. Instead, in a refreshing alternative to most of the current introductory-level texts, the book allows readers to view the globe as a complex place of multiple actors facing multiple issues. It concludes with cases of current events that will help students apply theories to real-world issues.

This text integrates post-Cold War events with the underlying structural characteristics of the international system that continue to resist fundamental change.