The Clash of Ideas in World Politics: Transnational Networks, States, and Regime Change, 1510-2010

Abstract

The Clash of Ideas in World Politics: Transnational Networks, States, and Regime Change, 1510–2010. By John M. Owen IV . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2010. 332 pp., $75.00 hardcover (ISBN-13: 9780691142388), $29.95 paperback (ISBN-13: 9780691142395). The study of world politics has two aspects; the first is explanation-oriented approaches that are based on studies of observable behaviors of states in world politics. Realist theories (or rationalists) lie here. The second is understanding-oriented approaches that are based on studies of interpretation about the roots of state and nonstate behaviors in world politics. Constructivist theories (or reflectivists) are among such approaches. After the end of the Cold War era, the study of non-material elements (such as culture, values, and ideas) found an important place in the study of international politics, and constructivist ideas and ideologies began to influence world interactions in different ways. They provided a new perspective through which the world was understood and explained. Nicolas Onuf (1989) with his World of Our Making: Rules and Rule in Social Theory and International Relations did much to develop such ideas. This was accentuated by writings of scholars such as Alexander Wendt (1992) who put forward “Anarchy Is What States Make of It” and the book Social Theory of International Politics (1999). In the years that followed, different titles tapping into the topic were published, each of which added to the literature in its own ways (see, for example, Fukuyama 1992 …