International Relations
Plato's Republic is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential works in the history of philosophy. Presented in the form of a dialogue between Socrates and three other political thinkers, it is an inquiry into the notion of a perfect community and the ideal individual within it.
Republic contains crucial arguments and insights into many other areas of political philosophy.
Where can I find it?
321.07 PLA in the Philosophy section of the Non-Fiction shelves in the Library.
Written during the chaos of the English Civil War, Thomas Hobbes asks how, in a world of violence and horror, can we stop ourselves from descending into anarchy?
Leviathan has been recognised as one of the most compelling, and most controversial, works of political philosophy ever written in English.
Where can I find it?
POL INR HOB in the Politics section of the International Relations shelves in the Library.
Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky depict how an underlying elite consensus largely structures all facets of the news.
A detailed and compelling political study which reveals how propaganda infiltrates all facets of the news and media.
Where can I find it?
POL INR HER in the Politics section of the International Relations shelves in the Library.
Hobsbawn reviews the destructive and creative nature of the troubled twentieth-century and makes challenging predictions for the future.
This book is excellent preparation for the power and development section.
Where can I find it?
POL INR HOB in the Politics section of the International Relations shelves in the Library.
The Prince is a 16th-century political treatise written by Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli as an instruction guide for new princes and royals. The general theme of The Prince is of accepting that the aims of princes – such as glory and survival – can justify the use of immoral means to achieve those ends.
A guide on how to seize, exercise and keep power.
Where can I find it?
POL PTH MAC in the Politics section of the Political Theory shelves in the Library.
John Stuart Mill sets forth representative government as the most sensible compromise between unreflective rule by the masses and the self-indulgence of the few.
A deeply powerful read that resonates with today's political climate.
Where can I find it?
POL INR MIL in the Politics section of the International Relations shelves in the Library.
Paula Debnar provides an excellent commentary on Thucydides' Melian Dialogue that explores the politics surrounding the Peloponnesian War. He evaluated the conflict between the political institutions and philosophies of the Athenian Empire.
This is a unique read that provides a link between the philosophical discussions of Euripides and Plato.
Where can I find it?
POL INR DEB in the Politics section of the International Relations shelves in the Library.
Samuel P Huntington, one of the world's most influential thinkers, argues in this seminal book that conflicts between different cultural civilizations are the greatest threat to world peace. He suggests that the world is comprised of not two opposite but eight diverse groups, based on religion and how international cooperation between them is the best safeguard against war.
This is an interesting read from the director of security planning for the National Security Council during the Carter Administration.
Where can I find it?
POL INR HUN in the Politics section of the International Relations shelves in the Library.
Empire identifies a radical shift in concepts that form the philosophical basis of modern politics, concepts such as sovereignty, nation, and people. Hardt and Negri link this philosophical transformation to cultural and economic changes in postmodern society―to new forms of racism, new conceptions of identity and difference, new networks of communication and control, and new paths of migration.
More than analysis, Empire is a Utopian work of political philosophy - considered the new Communist Manifesto.
Where can I find it?
POL INR HAR in the Politics section of the International Relations shelves in the Library.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, The End of History and the Last Man was the first book to offer a picture of what the new century would look like. Boldly outlining the challenges and problems to face modern liberal democracies, Francis Fukuyama examined what had just happened and predicted what was coming next.
Updated with a new afterword, Fukuyama shows how the central issue today remains the same. Have any political and economic models arisen that could challenge liberal democracy as the best way of organising human societies?
Where can I find it?
POL INR FUK in the Politics section of the International Relations shelves in the Library.
Hedley Bull explores three key questions: what is the nature of order in world politics?; how is it maintained in the contemporary state system?; and what alternative paths to world order are feasible and desirable?
A must-read for students interested in International Relations.
Where can I find it?
POL INR BUL in the Politics section of the International Relations shelves in the Library.
If neo-liberalism is dead what comes next? George Hoare, Alex Horchuli and Philip Cunliffe - presenters of Aufhebunga Bunga - explore the future of international relations.
The 'End of History' has been used to describe politics in the 21st-Century. However, 2016 showed that neo-liberal hegemony was at an end. This book plots the future of international relations.
Where can I find it?
POL INR HOC in the Politics section of the International Relations shelves in the Library.
A review of the British Army's time in Iraq. Over the first two decades of the twenty-first century, Britain has changed enormously. During this time, the British Army fought two campaigns, in Iraq and Afghanistan, at considerable financial and human cost. Yet neither war achieved its objectives. This book questions why, and provides challenging but necessary answers.
This book provides a helpful overview of the British Army's capacity to wage war in the 21st-Century.
Where can I find it?
POL INR AKA in the Politics section of the International Relations shelves in the Library.
Britannia Unchained travels around the world, exploring the nations that are triumphing in this new age, seeking lessons from neoliberalism.
This book is an excellent entry into understanding the neo-liberalism of senior Conservative MPs.
Where can I find it?
POL INR KWA in the Politics section of the International Relations shelves in the Library.
What will happen if Britain leaves the EU, and how will it affect you?
A clear, comprehensive and compelling guide to the impact of the EU and the implications of a British exit, this objective and unbiased handbook, from an expert in the field, is essential reading for anyone with an interest in Britain's future.
Where can I find it?
POL INR CHA in the Politics section of the International Relations shelves in the Library.
In this major statement, the renowned international-relations scholar John Mearsheimer argues that liberal hegemony―the foreign policy pursued by the United States since the Cold War ended―is doomed to fail.
The Great Delusion is a lucid and compelling work of the first importance for scholars, policymakers, and everyone interested in the future of American foreign policy.
Where can I find it?
POL INR MEA in the Politics section of the International Relations shelves in the Library.
Lea Ypi grew up in one of the most isolated countries on earth, a place where communist ideals had officially replaced religion. Albania, the last Stalinist outpost in Europe, was almost impossible to visit, almost impossible to leave. Then, in December 1990, a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, everything changed. As one generation's aspirations became another's disillusionment, and as her own family's secrets were revealed, Lea found herself questioning what freedom really meant.
Free is an engrossing memoir of coming of age amid political upheaval. With acute insight and wit, Lea Ypi traces the limits of progress and the burden of the past, illuminating the spaces between ideals and reality, and the hopes and fears of people pulled up by the sweep of history.
Where can I find it?
POL INR YPI in the Politics section of the International Relations shelves in the Library.