
Taming the Sovereigns
Institutional Change in International Politics
K. J. Holsti(Author)
Cambridge University Press
Published on 22. January 2004
Book
Hardback
372 pages
978-0-521-83403-2 (ISBN)
Description
Many analysts claim that international politics has recently entered a new era, following the end of the Cold War and then the events of September 11th. In this book, Kalevi Holsti asks what we mean by 'change' in international politics. How do we identify it? How do we distinguish between significant and unimportant changes? Do we really live in a new era or do we see more continuity than transformation in the texture of international politics? Combining theoretical and empirical argument, Holsti investigates eight major international institutions including the state, sovereignty, territoriality, international law, diplomacy, trade and war. Having identified the types of change these institutions have undergone during the last three centuries, Holsti analyses the sources of those changes and speculates on their consequences. This is a major book, likely to have lasting influence in the study of international politics.
Reviews / Votes
'Holsti ... has made a major contribution in drawing attention to the need to understand how such institutions emerge, evolve and sometimes die; giving the histories of some of them; and setting out many of the tools needed to conduct such analysis.' International Affairs '... provides one of the most thorough accounts of institutional change in world politics...' Political Studies ReviewMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Illustrations
3 Tables, unspecified
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 26 mm
Weight
754 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-521-83403-2 (9780521834032)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
04/2006
1st Edition
Cambridge University Press
€38.49
Available for download
Person
Kalevi J. Holsti is Research Associate at the Centre for International Relations and University Killam Professor, Political Science (Emeritus), at the University of British Columbia. He is the author of The State, War, and the State of War (1995), Peace and War: Armed Conflicts and International Order, 1648-1989 (1991), Change in the International System (1991), The Dividing Discipline (1985), Why Nations Realign (1983) and International Politics: a Framework for Analysis (7 editions).
Content
1. The problem of change in international relations: rhetoric, markers, and metrics; 2. The state as agent and institution; 3. Territoriality; 4. Sovereignty; 5. International law; 6. Diplomacy; 7. Trade; 8. Colonialism; 9. War; 10. International institutions: types, sources and consequences of change.