An original theory of politics and international relations based on ancient Greek ideas of human motivation.

Culture and International Relations contextually re-examines the history of international relations in order to explore how the discipline has imported and employed the concept of culture. The author challenges the notion that IR has only been interested in culture since the end of the Cold War by tracing different understandings of culture throughout its history.

The book presents a critical reflection on how the presence of «culture» in theory and practice of international relations is reflected in IR as a research field. The book consists of three parts: The culture in International Relations scholarship, culture in the practice of International Relations and culture in International Law.

Combining the perspectives of 18 international scholars from Europe and the United States with a critical discussion of the role of culture in international relations, this volume introduces recent trends in the study of Culture and International History. It systematically explores the cultural dimension of international history, mapping existing approaches and conceptual lenses for the study of cultural factors and thus hopes to sharpen the awareness for the cultural approach to international history among both American and non-American scholars. The first part provides a methodological introduction, explores the cultural underpinnings of foreign policy, and the role of culture in international affairs by reviewing the historiography and examining the meaning of the word culture in the context of foreign relations. In the second part, contributors analyze culture as a tool of foreign policy. They demonstrate how culture was instrumentalized for diplomatic goals and purposes in different historical periods and world regions. The essays in the third part expand the state-centered view and retrace informal cultural relations among nations and peoples. This exploration of non-state cultural interaction focuses on the role of science, art, religion, and tourism. The fourth part collects the findings and arguments of part one, two, and three to define a roadmap for further scholarly inquiry. A group of" commentators" survey the preceding essays, place them into a larger research context, and address the question "Where do we go from here?" The last and fifth part presents a selection of primary sources along with individual comments highlighting a new genre of resources scholars interested in culture and international relations can consult.

Provides a new framework for reconceptualizing the historical and contemporary relationship between cultural diversity, political authority, and international order.

Questioning the authority of the discipline of international relations, in particular structural realism, to recognize the influence of varied social phenomena on possible outcomes, this book demonstrates how seemingly insignificant acts propagated through music, humour and poetry can disturb official culture and initiate social change.

Political culture refers to the basic values, ideas, beliefs and political orientations by which countries, societies, and whole regions are guided. The underlying belief systems that shape cultures and societies and cause them to behave in certain, often distinct ways. The puzzle or query that chiefly concerns this author is why the United States (US) and its foreign policy have such a hard time understanding cultures and societies other than their own. This provocative book argues that the US needs to end its attitudes of superiority and condescension toward other nations and cultures and redirect its foreign policy accordingly. After an introduction that sets forth the main theoretical and conceptual arguments, the next chapters explore all the main areas of the world. The Conclusion pulls all these themes together, analyzes the common patterns that emerge, and suggests new directions for U.S foreign policy.