Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 233
•
Trim: 6¼ x 9
978-0-8420-2951-3 • Paperback • April 2001 • $49.00 • (£38.00)
978-1-4617-1497-2 • eBook • April 2001 • $46.50 • (£36.00)
Stanley Michalak has worked in the government department of Franklin & Marshall College, where he served as chairman from 1973 to 1976. He has also been a visiting scholar at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia and an author and consultant on United Nations affairs for the Heritage Foundation and the U.S. Department of State.
Chapter 1 Introduction—Why a Primer in Power Politics?
Chapter 2 International Politics IS Primarily about Interests and Order; It Is Only Secondarily about Justice and Moral Principles
Chapter 3 Revisionism Is the Driving Force in International Politics
Chapter 4 Be Wary of the Itch to Use Military Force; Those Who Give In to It Frequently Rue the Day They Did So
Chapter 5 Maintaining Peace Is the Job of the Status Quo Powers
Chapter 6 There Is No Viable Alternative to Power Politics
Chapter 7 Epilogue—The Prospects for Peace in the Post-Cold War World: Where You Stand on Questions of War and Peace Depends on Where You Sit
A Primer in Power Politics is one of the best written textbooks that I have ever read—it is even better written than Morgenthau. It is an exceptionally well-written explication of humanistic political realism. This book will be accessible to students and to the general public. The author does not just 'write well,' he writes very well.
— David A. Baldwin, Columbia University
Interweaving sophisticated theoretical analysis and insightful historical interpretation, Stanley Michalak provides a masterful introduction to humanistic realism and its capacity to shed light on the fundamental forces that shape world politics, and as such A Primer in Power Politics will be of great value to the students, teachers, leaders, and citizens of this new century.
— Joseph M. Grieco, Duke University
The best primer on power in politics since Hans Morganthau's In Defense of the National Interest. It draws upon the lessons of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and applies them to the post-Cold War world. The writing is clear and concise, and the historical cases flow beautifully. This book brings history alive and applies its lessons to the murky terrain of contemporary international politics.
— Robert Bresler, Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg
This is an invaluable resource to scholars and students of international relations. Professor Michalak's efforts to examine the nature, causes, and consequences of great power politics surpass Hans Morgenthau's classic Politics among Nations. His use of modern case studies, summaries of major arguments, and accessible prose render this an ideal text for undergraduate courses in international politics. For a primer in the realist school of international relations one need look no further.
— James R. Sofka, University of Virginia
A Primer in Power Politics provides an excellent discussion of important issues in international relations, public policy, conflict resolution, and power politics. The book offers original insights into the causes of war, the use of armed force in support of policy, the nature of revisionism in international politics, and the diffuse character of the issues with which policymakers must grapple in today's world. It will take its place among the best available texts for courses in international relations, foreign policy, and public policy.
— Stephen J. Cimbala, Pennsylvania State University, Delaware County