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Hi, here's a good list of books to get things going. https://www.reddit.com/r/Geopolitics/wiki/book

/u/alexderlion /u/n4kke /u/thucydidesnuts

Recently, there's quite a bit of interest in starting a book club in /r/geopolitics. It would be a great idea to team up.

/u/uppityworm and I were talking about working together with them, and he has contacted /u/fusionsc2 about that. /u/fusionsc2 is a fellow book lover and is interested in discussing geopolitics with people of similar interest.

Given the large amount of responses to reading a book about Africa in the thread mentioned above, we were thinking about doing a book on Africa for our next book. Let us know about your opinions.

/u/fusionsc2 has mentioned African Conflicts and Informal Power: Big Men and Networks. In the book list listed above, there are also some additional great books on Africa,

[The Fate of Africa: A History of the Continent Since Independence] (http://www.amazon.com/Fate-Africa-History-Continent-Independence/dp/1610390717), a critically acclaimed book that provides a comprehensive primer on political, economic, and major social developments in post-colonial African nations.

Season of Rains: Africa in the World, This book captures the broad spectrum of political, economic, and social foundations that make Africa what it is today. According to the Amazon reviews, it touches on recent economic and tech development in reviews. So might be good for future estimates.

China into Africa: Trade, Aid, and Influence Among the specific topics tackled here are China's interest in African oil; military and security relations; the influx and goals of Chinese aid to sub-Saharan Africa; human rights issues; and China's overall strategy in the region. It seems to be THE book on the relationship between China and Africa, according to many of the Amazon reviews.

So take a look at the books and also the book list, and we can discuss our next book after the our 3rd sessions. It would be great if you have any other additional books to recommend on Africa.

Hi there!

I think it's great that you're pursuing a master in IPE and want to get a better understanding of IR theory given how closely the two interact. Now, I am only an undergraduate so I may stumble here and there while giving you a rundown on International Relations, so others feel free to chime in or correct me where I'm wrong.

The Main Schools of International Relations theory:
---------------------
The major schools of thought are Realism, Liberalism, and Idealism/Constructivism. Heres a diagram to give a simple break down of the three.



Theories: | Realism (Classical & Structural) | Liberalism | Idealism (Constructivism)
---|---|----|----
Core Beliefs: | Self-interested states compete for power and security | Spread of democracy, global economic ties, and international organizations will strengthen peace | International politics is shaped by persuasive ideas, collective values, culture, and social identities
Key Actors in IR | States, which behave similarly regardless of their type of government | States, International Institutions, and Commercial Interests | Promoters of new ideas, transnational activist networks, and nongovernmental organizations
Main Instruments | Military power and state diplomacy | International Institutions and global commerce | Ideas and values
Theory's weaknesses | Doesn't account for progress and change in international relations or understanding that legitimacy can be a source of military power | Fails to understand that democratic regimes survive only if they safeguard military power and security; some liberals forget that transitions to democracy are sometimes violent | Does not explain which power structures and social conditions allow for changes in values
Founders & Thinkers | Hans Morgenthau; Kenneth Waltz; John Mearsheimer | Adam Smith; Immanuel Kant; Robert Keohane | Alexander Wendt; John Ruggie; Martha Finnemore
Doers | Otto von Bismarck; Henry Kissinger | Woodrow Wilson; Kofi Annan | Mahatma Gandhi; Osama bin Laden; Antiglobalization movement; Karl Marx
^^Adopted ^^from: ^^Essential ^^Readings ^^In ^^World ^^Politics ^^6th ^^Edition

After understanding these theories, it is important to note that no theory trumps one another. Some theories may provide a great explanation for one particular event, but do a poor job explaining another. I recommend reading Jack Snyder's One World, Rival Theories (Where I got my chart from) and Stephen Walt's One World, Many Theories to acquire a better understanding of this concept.


Next, it is important to understand that we live in an anarchic world, meaning there is no higher power overseeing every actors' decisions. The United Nations is the closest thing to an overseer, but is still limited and does not fully meet the required role. As a result, states are forced to look out for themselves because hypothetically, any ally today could be an enemy tomorrow.


The Levels of Analysis:
-----------------------
There are three different levels of analysis for International Relations. First, there is an analysis of the individual and the role they play in their collective body. This includes things like cultural identity and human behavior. Second, there is state-level analysis which focuses on nationalism, militaries, industrial complexes, and variance between states' size, ethnic groups, ect.. Lastly, there is system-level analysis which focuses on concepts like balance of power, anarchy, zero-sum, and even how states are grouped and labeled (e.g. The Allies or The Axis of Evil)


Quick List of Other IR Aspects:
------
It's past my bedtime, but here's a quick list of miscellaneous things that also contribute to understanding IR.

• State Sovereignty
  
• Power dynamics
  
• Roles of State & Non-state actors
  
• Causes of conflict (deep, intermediate, precipitating)
  
• International Trade (Organizations, Agreements, ect.)
  
• Geography's Role (Terrain, Resources, climate)
  
  
  
  
  As previously stated, if you'd like I can elaborate further on any topic. However, it is late and I must be getting off to bed. Others, feel free to chime in on something or correct me. Nevertheless, I hope you found this helpful.

There are three books I'd like to add as suggestions:

• Development as Freedom, by Amartya Sen. 285 pages, 5 hour and a half read without pauses.
  
  
• The Dictator's Handbook, by Bruce B. de Mesquita and Alistair Smith. 300 pages, 5 hour read without pauses.
  
  
• Making Globalization Work, by Joseph Stiglitz. 5 hour, fifteen minute read without pauses.
  
  For reference, the site I used says World Order by Henry Kissinger, the book we read previously, takes 6 hours to read. So these books a bit shorter.
  
  Development as Freedom:
  
  This book proposes a relatively new theory for public policy based on free agency. Amartya Sen's thesis is that the objective of governing and developing a country is to provide freedom to its citizens. He does a pretty good analysis of how a country works policy-wise and he makes a proposal to reach this free agency goal. I think this book would broaden perspectives on how to view a government's labor, on what development is, and what it should be.
  
  The Dictator's Handbook:
  
  In this book, Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alistair Smith decompose multiple historical situations both in governing and in private enterprises in order to define the universal dynamics of power. It is a great book and it explains, with sufficient evidence, what a leader needs to capture and retain power in any system imaginable by redefining how we view government systems.
  
  Making Globalization Work:
  
  I have read a bit of the previous books, but only a single chapter of this one, so instead I'm going to quote a review on amazon:
  
  > Three years ago, I was a little freshman economics student at a small college. My World Politics professor assigned me this book to read halfway through the semester, and I am quite happy that I read it. Stiglitz is blessed with both brains and writing ability, something that too many economists do not have [...] Stiglitz does an exceptional job of summarizing much of the baggage that international policy makers carry from their past mistakes.
  
  >The largest criticism that people have of the book is that much of what he says has been said by other people. This is true. But those other people can't write and aren't remotely as accessible as Stiglitz is. If you're looking for a good jump-in, read this book.
  
  

>Make note, I'm just a high schooler. I don't have any significant experience in academic IR studies, and I get most of my information from books, magazines, and journals. To be honest, I'm a little fuzzy on theory


I was the same in high school, trying to self-teach. If you have the opportunity to take a college intro-IR course it clears up sooo much. If you did it like me, you are teaching yourself out of order and context, and in a way that biases strongly towards some things and not others. Anyway, if you can't take an organized class, try to pick up a book on theory and that starts at the basics. I haven't read it yet, but if you like Realism then The Tragedy of Great Power Politics is supposedly excellent. Likewise, The End of History is the go-to Liberal book. Haven't read that either yet, so someone correct me if I'm way off-base with these recommendations. There's also Constructivism as the new thing, but I'm not really familiar with it. Anyways, getting theories down more helps a ton, it definitely changed my views on whether or not certain wars were good/bad ideas. But from your post you seem to have a good grasp on things, so IDK if this advice will help that much.


(^ this isn't related to your question, I just thought it might be helpful)


Anyways your question is basically Liberal Vs Realist it seems. A liberal of the Neoconservative (Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney, ect.) branch would say Saddam violated the liberal order first, and now the newly democratic Iraq has removed the threat. Iraq will join the other democracies and only attack dictators til there are none left and we have world peace. (this is really dumbed down, but you get the point)



Other less militaristic liberals (the Clintons, Woodrow Wilson especially) would say that that was an expected occasional break-down in the liberal order, and that liberal institutions for the most part prevent this sort of thing from happening more often, as it would if there was no UN or WTO ect. In their eyes, if Bush were ever put to international court and tried then it would be proof of the liberal order's success. The liberal order includes international free trade, which liberals say makes war unprofitable, and so they say, unlikely.


Realists (George HW Bush, Nixon, Kissinger) would agree with your middle paragraph, that the 'global order' is a manifestation of American hegemony, and that liberal institutions are set up to maximally benefit the USA, which is why other powers become revisionists; Iran/China/Russia does not feel it benefits from a US-led order (the WTO, World Bank, ect), and wants to set up an new order that maximizes their own power instead.


So its depends on who you ask, there is no real consensus here. For what its worth, I think you are dead on about the 'liberal order' really being the 'American order', and like you said, its mostly been a good thing.

I'm going to recommend War by Other Means: Geoeconomics and Statecraft.
Description: "In a cogent analysis of why the United States is losing ground as a world power and what it can do to reverse the trend, War by Other Means describes the statecraft of geoeconomics: the use of economic instruments to achieve geopolitical goals. Geoeconomics has long been a lever of America’s foreign policy. But factors ranging from U.S. bureaucratic politics to theories separating economics from foreign policy leave America ill prepared for this new era of geoeconomic contest, while rising powers, especially China, are adapting rapidly. The rules-based system Americans set in place after World War II benefited the United States for decades, but now, as the system frays and global competitors take advantage, America is uniquely self-constrained. Its geoeconomic policies are hampered by neglect and resistance, leaving the United States overly reliant on traditional military force."

Some endorsements:
"Robert Blackwill and Jennifer Harris do policymakers a service by reminding them of the importance of geoeconomic tools. In a world increasingly affected by economic power, their analysis deserves careful consideration. (Dr. Henry A. Kissinger, former U.S. Secretary of State)"

"A brilliant, comprehensive study of how economic measures have been―and should be―used to pursue geopolitical objectives. War by Other Means should be required reading for all presidential candidates and their foreign policy advisors. (General (Ret.) David H. Petraeus, Chairman, KKR Global Institute and former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency)"

"The economic aspect of foreign policy will be crucial to the next president’s success. She or he will need to reckon with Blackwill and Harris’s powerful arguments. (Lawrence H. Summers, President Emeritus and Charles W. Eliot University Professor of Harvard University and former Secretary of the Treasury)"

This was also recommended by several scholars on War on the Rocks 2016 Holiday Reading List.

*edited to fix link

> and how much they differ across cultural lines,

not sure about the cultural lines aspect but 100% behind being better able to identify epistemological + ontological assumptions. Great work by Patrick Jackson on this which basically summarizes most of the approaches to inquiry used in IR (and through a pretty nifty typology): Conduct of Inquiry in International Relations - http://www.amazon.com/The-Conduct-Inquiry-International-Relations/dp/0415776279

Well, as an IR scholar that applies inferential network methods to substantive IR questions, I think the previous findings show promise for a thriving research agenda. Send me a PM if you'd like to talk about anything in particular. If you're looking for IR-substantive references, here are some favorites:
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1287857
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fwzlmae58fx1fax/Cranmer-CV.pdf?dl=0
http://ps.ucdavis.edu/people/maoz/MaozCV.pdf

For networks specific texts, it depends on what level you're at. I'd recommend Wasserman and Faust as a foundation:
https://www.amazon.com/Social-Network-Analysis-Applications-Structural/dp/0521387078

But this is also a favorite:
https://www.amazon.com/Networks-Introduction-Mark-Newman/dp/0199206651/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1475112947&sr=1-1&keywords=newman+networks

From that, I'd recommend reading this:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ajps.12263/abstract

The books in short, descriptions by /u/AlexDerLion



After Hegemony by Robert Keohane


>Considered a classic and leading text of the neo-liberal school of IR. This was developed in response to the prevailing doctrine of realism and argues instead that states can through competition provide absolute gains in the international environment without hegemony. What you’d expect to come away with knowledge of: neoliberalism, motives for international cooperation, perhaps a deeper understanding of European relations

About 320 pages, 26 dollars on amazon
Ebook available, no audiobook



The Social Construction of International Politics by Ted Hopf

>I have debated whether to include this, but I picked it up this morning and re read the first chapter and it is extremely accessible. This book is a fantastic introduction to constructivism that would be well suited to group discussion and can provide many a footnote for those late night essays when you need to define your terms. What you’d expect to come away with knowledge of: constructivism, the nature and role of identity in state decision making, the complex nature of identity, Soviet and Russian foreign policy, my thesis methodology.

About 299 pages, 24 dollars on amazon, ebook available, no audiobook

The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War

>The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War – I know its cliché at this point to suggest this book but it really is that important. It provides a lot of models of IR to look at and evaluate, its examples are still relevant and underappreciated. The Peloponnesian War turned Greek balance of power on its head. It’s the book you’ll always regret not having read. And apparently Woodrow Wilson read the book on his transatlantic voyage before the Versailles Peace Conference, 1919. I haven’t read this particular edition but apparently it streamlines the narrative and provides a good deal of coherence.

About 713 pages, 20 dollars on amazon, ebook available, no audiobook

The Tragedy of Great Power Politics by John Mearsheimer

>This book is a solid foundation piece, many users on here may have read this book but it is absolutely a great read for the understanding of IR. Mearsheimer writes with accessible language and not too much jargon. What you’d expect to come away with knowledge of: realism, international state of anarchy, land > water power, how states can survive.

About 592 pages, 15 dollars on amazon, ebook and audiobook available.
***
Reordering the World by Duncan Bell

>Not necessarily an entry level IR book, this book explores the ideological and political roots of liberalism (and its relationship with imperialism. Exploring the works of Victorian era philosophers like John Stuart Mill, this book lays the groundwork for the liberal vision that would eventually overcome fascism and communism after two world wars – a great book.

About 456 pages, 23 dollars on amazon, ebook available, no audiobook

Looks like an interesting book, but the author has a mountain to climb in convincing me of his premise. From the accounts that I read (mainly that in Fast Tanks and Heavy Bombers: Innovation in the U.S. Army, 1917-1945) Allied strategic bombing was not nearly as effective as hoped. The Germans were able to adapt to the bombings on their war industry (as it turns out ball bearings aren't that crucial), and the bombings were wildly inaccurate. I still have much to learn on the subject though, so this will be a good opportunity to hear from the other side.

I understand the topic choice, seems interesting, but why exactly this book?

I suggest​ China's Second Continent, which is also more up to date.

*One of the Best Books of the Year at • The Economist • The  Guardian • Foreign Affairs


When is the deadline for deciding a new book, and how do we decide? :)
Maybe we need a seperate post.

The book you are looking for is Machiavellism by Friedrich Meinecke. It was written in German, but you can find it in English translation:

• https://archive.org/details/machiavellismdoc00mein
  
• http://www.amazon.com/Machiavellism-Doctrine-Raison-Modern-History/dp/1560009705
  
  This is the real deal. You'll be drinking straight from the firehose.
  
  Hans Morgenthau's Politics Among Nations is more accessible than Meinecke. It's written more as a textbook than as history of an idea. This is Morgenthau bringing the German understanding of realpolitik (read as: Meinecke) to Americans who found realism alien to their generally liberal political tradition. It has the theory, the applications, and the historical examples.
  
  Morgenthau and his star pupil, Kenneth Thompson (who edited Politics Among Nations), more or less created the field of International Relations as we know it today. (That story is told in Nicholas Guilhot's The Invention of International Relations Theory.)
  
  If you want to know more about the history of different ideas within "realism" and the transition that academic realism went through from Morgenthau to Mearsheimer, check out Jonathan Haslam's No Virtue Like Necessity: Realist Thought in International Relations since Machiavelli.
  
  Finally, you'll want to pick up a copy of Machiavelli's The Prince. How could you not?

https://www.amazon.com/Kicking-Away-Ladder-Development-Perspective/dp/1843310279

​

You are correct, sir! By the way, this author is awesome. Very informative about such things.

I haven't read it but I've heard good things about Drezer's IR/Zombies book.

There are also a number of summaries of it online.

In terms of a fun way to navigate the theoretical underpinnings of IR I would thoroughly recommend Drenzer's Theories of International Politics and Zombies.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/Theories-International-Politics-Zombies-Daniel-W-Drezner/0691147833

In your OP you mentioned links to human nature, this is an area where multiple theories collide. It's a question consistently pondered by the academic community but it is addressed (or dismissed) by most contemporary theories of IR. You shouldn't have to go far into the literature to discover this.

Cynthia Weber's International Relations Theory: A Critical Introduction is a good call. It covers the major theories from a more relatable view

Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/International-Relations-Theory-Critical-Introduction/dp/0415778425

My choice would be Daniel Drezner's Theories of International Politics and Zombies. It covers a lot of theories in what I found to be a really approachable and understable way.

Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Theories-International-Politics-Zombies-Drezner/dp/0691147833/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411909029&sr=1-1&keywords=international+relations+and+zombies

Source: Currently studying MA International Relations