War and Change in World PoliticsCambridge University Press, 1981 - 272 pages War and Change in World Politics introduces the reader to an important new theory of international political change. Arguing that the fundamental nature of international relations has not changed over the millennia, Professor Gilpin uses history, sociology, and economic theory to identify the forces causing change in the world order. The discussion focuses on the differential growth of power in the international system and the result of this unevenness. A shift in the balance of power - economic or military - weakens the foundations of the existing system, because those gaining power see the increasing benefits and the decreasing cost of changing the system. The result, maintains Gilpin, is that actors seek to alter the system through territorial, political, or economic expansion until the marginal costs of continuing change are greater than the marginal benefits. When states develop the power to change the system according to their interests they will strive to do so- either by increasing economic efficiency and maximizing mutual gain, or by redistributing wealth and power in their own favour. |
From inside the book
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Page vi
... of contemporary observers , are attributed to the follies of statesmen or the fanaticism of atheists . John Maynard Keynes , The Economic Consequences of the Peace Contents Preface Introduction 1 The Nature of International Political ...
... of contemporary observers , are attributed to the follies of statesmen or the fanaticism of atheists . John Maynard Keynes , The Economic Consequences of the Peace Contents Preface Introduction 1 The Nature of International Political ...
Page x
... change that can be useful in understanding international political change . As John Harsanyi has argued , the problem of social change " must be ultimately explained in terms of personal incentives for some people to change their ...
... change that can be useful in understanding international political change . As John Harsanyi has argued , the problem of social change " must be ultimately explained in terms of personal incentives for some people to change their ...
Page xi
... change is the assumption that the purposes and natures of social institu- tions are determined principally by the ... international political change must consider how political , economic , and tech- nological developments affect the ...
... change is the assumption that the purposes and natures of social institu- tions are determined principally by the ... international political change must consider how political , economic , and tech- nological developments affect the ...
Page 1
... world were novel developments of a qualitatively different order from those of the preceding decade . These devel- opments and many others in the political , economic , and military realms signaled far - reaching shifts in the international ...
... world were novel developments of a qualitatively different order from those of the preceding decade . These devel- opments and many others in the political , economic , and military realms signaled far - reaching shifts in the international ...
Page 3
... changes in international systems . However , we make no claim to have discovered the " laws of change " that determine when political change will occur or what course it will take.2 On the contrary , the position taken here is that ...
... changes in international systems . However , we make no claim to have discovered the " laws of change " that determine when political change will occur or what course it will take.2 On the contrary , the position taken here is that ...
Contents
The Nature of International Political Change | 9 |
Stability and Change | 50 |
Growth and Expansion | 106 |
Equilibrium and Decline | 156 |
Hegemonic War and International Change | 186 |
Change and Continuity in World Politics | 211 |
Change and War in the Contemporary World | 231 |
245 | |
260 | |
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Common terms and phrases
argued become behavior benefits bipolar Britain British Byzantine Empire capital capitalist century change the international change the system city-state conflict consequence contemporary world costs create decline decrease diminishing returns disequilibrium distribution of power domestic dominant power E. H. Carr economic growth economic surplus efficiency empire equilibrium Europe European existing expansion factors forces foreign policy fundamental gains global governance groups hegemonic imperial important incentive increase indifference curve individuals industrial interactions interdependence interests international political change international relations international system Kenneth Waltz market economy Marxist military power modern world monetarization nation-state nomic nuclear weapons Pax Britannica political organization Polybius premodern prestige production property rights redistribution relative Revolution rise seek to change social society Soviet Union status quo structure systems change technological tend territorial theory Thucydides tion tional system trade types United University Press Waltz wars wealth and power world market economy world politics