Book Review: Understanding Global Conflict and Cooperation: An Introduction to Theory and History
Journal Title: International Journal of Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary Studies (IJIMS) - Year 2018, Vol 5, Issue 1
Abstract
“Understanding Global Conflict and Cooperation: an Introduction to Theory and History” (8th edition) – Chinese edition – was published by Pearson Education Asia Ltd and China Renmin University Press in 2012. Its original text was published in 2007 by the Pearson Education, Inc. The book was co-authored by Joseph Nye Jr. and David A. Welch. Joseph Nye Jr. is an American political scientist and a leading scholar of International Relations Theories particularly Liberalism; former Dean of John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University; former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs; Deputy Under Secretary of State for Security Assistance, Science and Technology and served on various board as well. The foundation of Neo-liberalism is very much associated with him and the likes of Ikenberry and Robert Keohane with whom many related tenets of liberalism have been developed. J. Nye is famously known for his development of the concept of “soft power”1 or “smart power” which became very popular with the administration of Clinton and Obama. David A. Welch is Professor of Political Science and a Centre for International Governance Innovation Chair of Global Security at the Balsillie School of International Affairs at the University of Waterloo, Canada. His research interest lies in International relations and International security. He has some award winning publications in his name. The book is divided into 9 chapters ranging from modern history – chapters 1 to 5; current period – chapters 6 to 8; and the final chapter – 9 – gives some expositions into our future. The book provides an insight into our current world politics and international relations which is characterized by an era of complex interdependence and interconnectivity. Nye and Welch examine global conflicts and cooperation among global actors through lessons from history and subjected them to theoretical explanations and understanding that enables us to comprehend and analyze current global phenomena and effectively predict our future international relations outcomes.2 As they stated, conflict is bound to occur in all aspects of life at “anytime that two or more people have different preferences”. Therefore mutual “cooperation is required to decide how to allocate and safeguard the use of private and club goods as well” to cater for the varied preferences. Apart from one winning and the other losing, conflict could be solved through compromise or mediating for the change of preference of either or both sides. The authors discussion of Global conflicts started from the Peloponnesian War which the famous Thucydides trap tells us the cause of it as “what made the war inevitable was the growth of Athenian power and the fear this caused in Sparta”; and the logic of global cooperation started with the consequences of the Thirty Years War – Westphalian peace which the authors said “was actually a set of treaties, of which the two most important, the treaties of Osnabruck and Munster (1648), ended the Thirsty Years War” and although it “did not eliminate war from Europe, but it did moderate its severity and intensity”, replaced feudalism and strengthened the concept to statehood. As liberals, Nye and Welch evaluation and discussion of concepts and theories were influenced by their liberal perspectives. For example, their discussion of collective security favored a preference of a sort over balance of power. Nye and Welch started from a description of international politics as “an anarchic system of states” which had succeeded the imperial and feudal systems. It was “composed of states that are relatively cohesive but with no higher government above them” thus international politics was defined as “politics in the absence of a common sovereign, politics among entities with no ruler above them…self help…nature of state”. Although, all international relations theories – realism, liberalism, constructivism, among others – begin with the concept of anarchy, they differ on some fundamental concepts.
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Thomas Ameyaw-Brobbey
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