We are witnessing turbulent times which inspire both anxiety and hope. Many global trends are sweeping across a transforming world. To make these movements and changes more understandable, this book introduces the reader to the study of world politics in a period of rapid readjustment. This book also focuses on world-historical transformations as a general phenomenon, showing how the twenty-first century change in world politics fits into broader patterns of macro-historical change. To do that, the perspective of major international relations theories is utilized, and a discussion of transformation is grounded within a conceptual framework. This book will strengthen the reader's understanding of the trends and transformations in world politics.
OEzgur TUEFEKCI is associate professor of International Relations at Karadeniz Technical University, Turkey. Rahman DAGis associate professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at Zonguldak Bulent Ecevit University.
Introduction by Rahman DAG and OEzgur TUEFEKCI PART I Chapter One: From Stasis to Change: The Structural Context of The Second Cold War by Richard SAKWA Chapter Two: NATO-The Urgent Need of Adaptation (Again) in a Changing World: Revitalization of Political Dimension, Southern Flank and China Factor by Luis Tome Chapter Three: Effect of Cases on the Rivalry between National Sovereignty and Intervention by Ekrem OK and OEzgur TUEFEKCI Chapter Four: The Bear has Taken the Honey: Predictability of Putin's Russia by Sonia SENICA Chapter Five: How Eurasian Integration of China's Belt & Road Initiative Defends a Multipolar World Order by Andrew K P LEUNG Chapter Six: Whither Global Governance? An Approach to the World Politics by OEzgur TUEFEKCI and Rahman DAG PART II Chapter Seven: Trends and Transformation in World Politics through the Eyes of the Leading IR Scholars by Rahman DAG and OEzgur TUEFEKCI Conclusion by Rahman DAG and OEzgur TUEFEKCI About the Contributors
Tufekci and Dag provide a timely guide to a world in flux. They have curated a unique and eclectic collection that brings together some of the most eminent and influential thinkers on world politics. It offers an innovative take on these politics through a combination of traditional chapters and a series of interviews, which, together, provide a multiple-dimensional approach to the critical debates and issues shaping our national and international politics. The book is sweeping in its scope, crossing disciplinary and political borders in order to provide the array of conceptual lenses and perspectives that are necessary for bringing our confusing and complex world into focus. It has a kaleidoscopic quality, with each chapter and contribution offering a fresh vantage point and position that shifts and alters the reader's understanding of contemporary world politics. This brings a richness of viewpoints that are vital for reading this tumultuous moment in global history. Behind this collection also lies an agenda to chart a new international politics that can contribute to a more equitable world. It is a politics that must be sufficiently responsive to the multiple crises we face, from environmental catastrophe to exhausted economic orthodoxy, and new kinds of technologies and media. Scholars and students of IR and related disciplines will find much to engage with in a book which recognizes that radical new ways of thinking are needed to find the routes out of our turbulent times. -- Paul Richardson, University of Birmingham
