Inside/Outside: International Relations as Political Theory (Cambridge Studies in International Relations, Series Number 24)

"In this book Rob Walker offers an original analysis of the relationship between twentieth-century theories of international relations, and the political theory of civil society since the early modern period. He views theories of international relations both as an ideological expression of the modern state, and as a clear indication of the difficulties of thinking about a world politics characterized by profound spatiotemporal accelerations. International relations theories should be seen, the author argues, more as aspects of contemporary world politics than as explanations of contemporary world politics. These theories are examined in the light of recent debates about modernity and post-modernity, sovereignty and political identity, and the limits of modern social and political theory." "This book is a major contribution to the field of critical international relations, and will be of interest to social and political theorists and political scientists, as well as students and scholars of international relations. Book jacket."--BOOK JACKET. This book offers an original analysis of the relationship between twentieth-century theories of international relations, and the political theory of civil society. The author views theories of international relations both as an ideological expression of the modern state, and as a clear indication of the difficulties of thinking about a world politics distinct from relations among states. Theories are examined in the light of recent debates about modernity and post-modernity, the rearticulation of political space/time, and the limits of modern social political theory. Attempts to come to terms with the complexities, contradictions and opportunities of contemporary political life participate in a widespread sense of accelerations, disjunctions and uncertainties.