The Social Evolution of International Politics

Reviews / Votes

[The book] contains seriously original and insightful thinking that should stimulate reconsideration of some major positions and debates in International Relations ... Quality big thinking like this does not come along often ... this is a book that deserves a wide readership. It makes some big and important points about how to study IR, which the discipline would undoubtedly benefit from debating. * Barry Buzan, International Affairs * In this exciting new book, Tang argues for a Social Evolution Paradigm (SEP) as the basis of social scientific and international relations theorizing. Simultaneously provocative and insightful, Tang provides an historically sweeping account of international political transformations and their relationship to theories of international relations. In so doing, Tang provides ample evidence that his approach encourages better understanding not just of international politics but also of how we have and should study it. * Jennifer Sterling-Folker, Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Connecticut * Professor Shiping Tang advances a bold and provocative argument. He submits that human society has historically evolved from relatively benign relations in hunter-gatherer societies, to offensive realism systems, then to defensive realism systems, and finally to a more institutionally rule-based international system. Prevalent international relations theories, such as realism and liberalism, are historically contingent rather than trans-historical theories. Tangs social evolutionary account aims to encompass these prevalent arguments while providing a broad overview of the international system from its beginning to the present day. * Hendrik Spruyt, Director of the Buffett Center for International and Comparative Studies, and Norman Dwight Harris Professor of International Relations, Northwestern University * In social science evolution is usually used as a metaphor, but in his insightful and important study Shiping Tang takes it serious and shows how IR has actually evolved. In doing so he revises and reconciles many of our familiar theories and casts a fresh and fascinating light on the inter-relations among war, states, and societies. A truly sweeping account. * Robert Jervis, Columbia University, author of System Effects: Complexity in Political and Social Life * Shiping Tang has produced a non-determinist and non-reductionist approach to social evolution that is distinct from and critical of evolutionary psychology. His version of a beneficial mutation is a good idea, which may triumph depending on context and the power of its supporters. His approach is the kind of good idea that with the right friends may encourage the evolution of international relations. * Richard Ned Lebow, Professor of International Political Theory, Department of War Studies, King's College London, and James O. Freedman Presidential Professor, Emeritus, Dartmouth College *