Manchester University Press
12 Arms races and revolutions
Abstract
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a turning point in the Cold War. On the one hand, the crisis convinced the two superpowers of the necessity to establish diplomatic relations and regulate their nuclear arms race. On the other hand, the superpower competition for influence in the Third World increased, as the USSR began to support rebel movements which opposed the colonial domination of Western powers and fought to obtain self-rule and sovereign status for their nations. During the 1960s, national liberation-movements in Africa and Asia introduced radical, anti-capitalist arguments to scholarly IR. Not only did the number of theoretical traditions increased from two to three – in addition to Realism and Rationalism, there emerged a radical, revolutionary tradition; this revolutionary tradition, based on the anti-capitalist political economy of Marx and Lenin, gained an enormous influence. This chapter examines the way in which the new logic of structuralism affected and altered IR theory. In particular it traces the impact of structural analysis during the 1970s by discussing the very different theories of Immanuel Wallerstein, Kenneth Waltz and Hedley Bull.
Abstract
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a turning point in the Cold War. On the one hand, the crisis convinced the two superpowers of the necessity to establish diplomatic relations and regulate their nuclear arms race. On the other hand, the superpower competition for influence in the Third World increased, as the USSR began to support rebel movements which opposed the colonial domination of Western powers and fought to obtain self-rule and sovereign status for their nations. During the 1960s, national liberation-movements in Africa and Asia introduced radical, anti-capitalist arguments to scholarly IR. Not only did the number of theoretical traditions increased from two to three – in addition to Realism and Rationalism, there emerged a radical, revolutionary tradition; this revolutionary tradition, based on the anti-capitalist political economy of Marx and Lenin, gained an enormous influence. This chapter examines the way in which the new logic of structuralism affected and altered IR theory. In particular it traces the impact of structural analysis during the 1970s by discussing the very different theories of Immanuel Wallerstein, Kenneth Waltz and Hedley Bull.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Dedication v
- Contents vii
- List of figures and tables viii
- Preface to the third edition ix
- Introduction 1
- I Preludes 13
- 1 Gods, sinners and preludes of International Relations theory 15
- 2 Renaissance politics 45
- II Philosophies of war and peace 69
- 3 Reformation politics 71
- 4 Absolutist politics 97
- 5 Enlightenment politics 128
- 6 Ideological politics 169
- III The classic age of International Relations 201
- 7 Intermezzo 203
- 8 The Great War, the big League and the twenty years’ crisis 242
- 9 World War II, the UN and the postwar order 278
- 10 Rivals, realists and Cold War 313
- 11 The thaw and the Third World 336
- 12 Arms races and revolutions 364
- 13 The turn 395
- IV A future history of International Relations 425
- 14 Unipolar world? 427
- 15 Global politics 456
- Bibliography 493
- Index 522
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Dedication v
- Contents vii
- List of figures and tables viii
- Preface to the third edition ix
- Introduction 1
- I Preludes 13
- 1 Gods, sinners and preludes of International Relations theory 15
- 2 Renaissance politics 45
- II Philosophies of war and peace 69
- 3 Reformation politics 71
- 4 Absolutist politics 97
- 5 Enlightenment politics 128
- 6 Ideological politics 169
- III The classic age of International Relations 201
- 7 Intermezzo 203
- 8 The Great War, the big League and the twenty years’ crisis 242
- 9 World War II, the UN and the postwar order 278
- 10 Rivals, realists and Cold War 313
- 11 The thaw and the Third World 336
- 12 Arms races and revolutions 364
- 13 The turn 395
- IV A future history of International Relations 425
- 14 Unipolar world? 427
- 15 Global politics 456
- Bibliography 493
- Index 522
