Polities: Authority, Identities, and Change / Edition 1

by Yale H. Ferguson

Overview

A call to view polities through a lens wider than that of the Westphalian state

Frustrated by the growing gap between international relations theory and the world it purports to explain, Yale H. Ferguson and Richard W. Mansbach fulfill the promise made in The Elusive Quest to offer an alternative way of thinking about relations among polities. With their latest collaboration, they shift the discipline's traditional focus from a world of territorially bounded sovereign states to an ever-changing variety of overlapping, layered, and linked politically functioning collectives.

Ferguson and Mansbach identify ideal polity types and contend that while individuals typically possess loyalties to many compatible polities, issue may force invidious choices, as exemplified by the post-cold-war reawakenings of "nations," tribes, and clans. Through six case studies of major civilizations and ages, these noted scholars illustrate their theoretical arguments about the constant evolution of polities, the continual shifting of the global structure, and the importance of the past for understanding both the present and the future of global politics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781570030772
Publisher:	University of South Carolina Press
Publication date:	05/31/1996
Series:	Studies in International Relations
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	495
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 9.50(h) x 1.50(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Yale H. Ferguson is professor of political science and former department chair at Rutgers University–Newark.

What People are Saying About This

Nicholas G. Onuf

Provides a new interpretation of international relations by going outside international relations as traditionally understood Sure to become a landmark book for the decade.

Editorial Reviews

A study of the folk religion of the people of Myanmar (formerly Burma) drawing on research conducted in 1961-62, looking at its relationship to the formal religion of Buddhism and examining the psychological basis of religion in general. Originally published in 1967 by Prentice-Hall, this expanded edition, first published in 1978 by the Institute for the Study of Human Issues, contains a preface by the author discussing underlying theoretical issues and outlining the continuing debate of religion as a cultural belief system. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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