Essentials of International Relations, Second Edition (The Norton Series in World Politics) [Paperback]

Karen Mingst (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0393977226 | ISBN-13: 978-0393977226 | Publication Date: August 2001 | Edition: 2nd

"Essentails of Internatioanl Relations" covers the field's core concepts and offers professors the freedom to supplement their courses with additional texts from the "Norton Series in World Politics". This second edition features new chapters on globalizing issues, addressing scarcity of resources, growing populations and cross-cultural ethics. An accessible and authoritative coverage, this text should provide students with the analytical tools they need for study in this dynamic field.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Karen Mingst is professor of political science at the University of Kentucky. She is a specialist in international relations, with specific expertise in international organization, international law, and international political economy. Her geographic focus is on Sub-Saharan Africa. Professor Mingst has written several books and numerous journal articles and has conducted research in Western Europe, Yugoslavia, and West Africa. She has served as President of the International Studies Association (South) and as Treasurer and Vice President of the International Studies Association.

Product Details

• Paperback: 314 pages
• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc (Np); 2nd edition (August 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393977226
• ISBN-13: 978-0393977226
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,095,799 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Easy read but not truly balanced, April 8, 2005

By 

Michael Stoil "Michael" (Springfield, Virginia USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Essentials of International Relations, Third Edition (Paperback)

I assigned the text for a survey course on IR after a previous class found Baylis & Smith to be too difficult to absorb in a 10-week term. Positive elements of Mingst include logical organization, concise and enjoyable writing style, and clear definitions of core concepts. However:
(1) Mingst does little to address the major challenge in teaching IR in the US: i.e., getting students to think out of the mindset of seeing interstate and transnational relations from the US perspective.
(2) Coverage of IR theory appears somewhat dated: there is a lengthy discussion of the 80+ year-old geopolitical theories of Mahan and Mackinder, but very poor coverage of Marxist and radical theory (e.g., Wallerstein), and limited discussion of Huntington and the neo-realists.
(3) The inevitable chapter on the history of the international relations system is heavily biased by a Eurocentric realist perspective, especially in its coverage of the 19th century.
In summary, Mingst's work is popular with students and can be useful as an IR primer, but the instructor should expect to work hard to ensure that the class has a balanced, truly global up-to-date perspective on this subject.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars all style and no substance, December 14, 2005

By 

IR Teacher (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Essentials of International Relations, Third Edition (Paperback)

it's sad that so many students seem to be attracted to "Essentials of International Relations" due to its prose and organization, because its substance is pitiful. I had the displeasure of serving as a Teaching Assistant for a freshman-level course that used this text and could not believe the number of inaccuracies, misleading statements, contradictions, and outright flaws.

for example, Dr. Mingst properly uses the definitions of "deterrence" and "compellence" from Tom Schelling, the recent Nobel Laureate. But then she proceeds to get compellence exactly wrong when she claims that "compellence ends once the use of force begins." Apparently she didn't read (or understand) the chapters in which Schelling shows how war is mainly the use of force in order to compel an adversary. She talks about decisionmaking is affected at the individual level by "mirror images" -- absolutely. But then she "explains" the concept exactly wrong as the "tendency of individuals and groups to see in one's opponent the opposite of characteristics seen in oneself." Rather, mirror imaging refers to the tendency of understanding the actions of others by assuming that others must have the same characteristics as oneself -- "he/she must be doing action X for reason Y because only reason Y would cause me to do action X"

in other words, I had three types of students -- (1) the ones who didn't read it; (2) the smart ones who read it, understood its flaws, and sought clarifications; and (3) the not-so-smart ones who read it, and took its flaws as truth. In the end, I felt sorry for all three groups, but most so for the last. It is a waste of money, a waste of time, and a waste of Norton's opportunity to provide a clear and credible IR text.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent textbook, June 10, 2000

By 

Thomas J. Bickford "Hong Kong Bookworm" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Essentials of International Relations (Paperback)

This is one of the best freshmen level textbooks i have come across. The author does an excellent job of summarizing the main theoretical approaches to IR and provides useful introductions to such issues areas as security, international political economy, and international organization. My students find the tables and theory summaries very useful. The book will fit well with many of the IR readers that are available on the markt