A concise book on Realpolitik: its origins as an idea; its practical application to statecraft in the recent past; and its relevance to contemporary foreign policy.

A fascinating history of nationalistic policies in Europe in the mid-nineteenth century. Both Germany, France and Italy experienced huge nationalistic political reforms and they helped create the modern Europe we know today.

Realism remains the most important and controversial vision of international politics. But what does it mean to be a realist? This collection addresses this key question by returning to the thinking of perhaps the most influential realist of modern times: Hans J. Morgenthau. In analyses of issues ranging from political philosophy, to international law, to the impact of nuclear weapons and the challenges of American foreign policy, the authors demonstrate that Morgenthau's thinking exemplifies a rich realist tradition that is often lacking in contemporary analyses of international relations and foreign policy. At a time when realism is once again at the centre of both scholarly and political debates, this book shows that the legacy of classical realism can enrich our understanding of world politics and contribute to its future direction.

Realism remains the most important and controversial vision of international politics. But what does it mean to be a realist? This collection addresses this key question by returning to the thinking of perhaps the most influential realist of modern times: Hans J. Morgenthau. In analyses of issues ranging from political philosophy, to international law, to the impact of nuclear weapons and the challenges of American foreign policy, the authors demonstrate that Morgenthau's thinkingexemplifies a rich realist tradition that is often lacking in contemporary analyses of international relations and foreign policy. At a time when realism is once again at the centre of both scholarly and political debates, this book shows that the legacy of classical realism can enrich ourunderstanding of world politics and contribute to its future direction.

Few literary phenomena are as elusive and yet as persistent as realism. While it responds to the perennial impulse to use literature to reflect on experience, it also designates a specific set of literary and artistic practices that emerged in response to Western modernity. Landscapes of Realism is a two-volume collaborative interdisciplinary exploration of this vast territory, bringing together leading-edge new criticism on the realist paradigms that were first articulated in nineteenth-century Europe but have since gone on globally to transform the literary landscape. Tracing the manifold ways in which these paradigms are developed, discussed and contested across time, space, cultures and media, this first volume tackles in its five core essays and twenty-five case studies such questions as why realism emerged when it did, why and how it developed such a transformative dynamic across languages, to what extent realist poetics remain central to art and popular culture after 1900, and how generally to reassess realism from a twenty-first-century comparative perspective.

Challenges the assumption of the rationality of foreign policy makers in international relations, showing how leaders systematically vary in the rationality of their thinking.

"This book puts forward a point of view about advancement for International Relations in general and realism in particular. If borne out, the arguments contained in this study could have far-reaching consequences for International Relations and even beyond. Effective debate among realists and those who identify with other schools of thought has diminished dramatically over time. International Relations scholars have become dissatisfied with results from exchanges in words alone. Translation of the vast amount of information in the field into knowledge requires a greater emphasis on communication beyond the use of text. Given the challenges posed by existing and intensifying information overload, a call is made in this book for a new vision of progress, with a solid foundation in the philosophy of inquiry, through graphic representation of cause and effect. Realist scholarship in the post-World War II era is the natural domain for application of systemism, a graphic form of expression with straightforward rules for portrayal of cause and effect within theories. Systemism offers a visualization technique borrowed and adapted from the philosophy of science. Systemist graphics reveal the shortcomings, contributions and potential of realism, the embattled 'canary in the coal mine' for International Relations. These visualizations, which focus on realist theories about war, are intended to bring order out of what critics describe as chaos. In sum, a graphic turn for realism in particular and International Relations in general is essential in order to achieve the scientific progress that otherwise is likely to remain elusive"--