Request for consultation

Thanks for your request. You’ll soon be chatting with a consultant to get the answers you need.
Your form is submitting...
{{formPostErrorMessage.message}} [{{formPostErrorMessage.code}}]
First Name is required. 'First Name' must contain at least 0 characters 'First Name' cannot exceed 0 characters Please enter a valid First Name
Last Name is required. 'Last Name' must contain at least 0 characters 'Last Name' cannot exceed 0 characters Please enter a valid Last Name
Email Address is required. 'Email Address' must contain at least 0 characters 'Email Address' cannot exceed 0 characters Please enter a valid Email Address
Institution is required.
Discipline is required.
Country is required.
State is required.
Cengage, at your service! How can we best meet your needs? is required.
Why are you contacting us today? is required. 'Why are you contacting us today?' must contain at least 0 characters 'Why are you contacting us today?' cannot exceed 0 characters Please enter a valid Why are you contacting us today?

International Relations: Perspectives, Controversies and Readings, 5th Edition

Keith L. Shimko

  • Copyright 2016
  • {{checkPublicationMessage('Published', '2015-01-01T00:00:00+0000')}}
Starting At $84.95 See pricing and ISBN options
Instructor Next Steps
Students: Buy now
International Relations: Perspectives, Controversies and Readings 5th Edition by Keith L. Shimko
Quick Navigation

Overview

Engaging and highly accessible, this reader-friendly text features broad coverage of key principles of international relations, providing a thorough introduction to the discipline while avoiding excessive detail and complexity. International Relations: Perspectives, Controversies, and Readings, Fifth Edition, explores essential concepts such as power politics, war and democracy, human nature, free trade, inequality, globalization, humanitarian intervention, and terrorism. Each chapter features brief, topical coverage presented within a debate framework, challenging you to think critically, consider diverse perspectives, and apply what you have learned to real-world scenarios. The author also includes current, relevant primary source readings, giving you firsthand exposure to the materials and ideas shaping international relations today. Thoroughly revised, the Fifth Edition of this popular text features updated content in nearly every chapter, including the most recent statistics, research, trends, theories, and examples drawn from today’s headlines, including chemical weapons in Syria, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and the debate over climate change and global resources.

{{readMore['overview'] ? 'Read More' : 'Read Less'}}

Meet the Authors

{{collapseContainerClosed['meet-the-author'] ? 'Show More' : 'Show Less'}}

Keith L. Shimko

Keith L. Shimko, Ph.D., is associate professor of political science at Purdue University. He has taught Introduction to International Relations since 1990 and has won several school and university-wide teaching awards. Dr. Shimko is the author of IMAGES AND ARMS CONTROL: PERCEPTIONS OF THE SOVIET UNION IN THE REAGAN ADMINISTRATION (Michigan, 1991), which was named a CHOICE outstanding academic book and received the Lynne-Reinner/Quincy Wright Award, as well as THE IRAQ WARS AND AMERICA'S MILITARY REVOUTION (Cambridge, 2010). He received his B.A. from Franklin and Marshall College and his Ph.D. from Indiana University.

What's New

{{collapseContainerClosed['whats-new'] ? 'Show More' : 'Show Less'}}
  • In addition to updated content in nearly every chapter, the Fifth Edition features numerous new photos and up-to-date statistics reflecting the most current research and reporting.
  • Thoroughly revised based on the trends, theories, and discussions shaping the study of international relations today, including debates about whether American covert actions against democracies undermine democratic peace theory, Stephen Pinker’s thesis about human nature and declining global violence, and corruption as an obstacle to development.
  • Features numerous examples and issues drawn from important recent and ongoing international issues, including Syria’s alleged use of chemical weapons under customary international law, and Ukrainain denuclearization and its consequences given the country’s conflict with Russia.
  • New and expanded information is provided on crucial global issues such as climate change and global resources, including reference to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report and the theory of peak oil.
  • Includes six all-new or thoroughly updated Point of View readings, inviting students to consider opposing perspectives on key issues to help frame and challenge their own opinions.

Features

{{collapseContainerClosed['features'] ? 'Show More' : 'Show Less'}}
  • Designed to be reader-friendly and engaging, this popular text provides a thorough, yet highly accessible introduction to international relations, combining broad coverage of essential theory, current issues, and real-world examples in a compact volume that avoids excessive detail and complexity.
  • Following a pair of introductory chapters on international history and politics, the text features 11 chapters that explore fundamental issues or controversies in international relations, such as power politics, war and democracy, human nature, free trade, inequality, globalization, humanitarian intervention, and terrorism.
  • The author approaches major topics using provocative questions such as “How should we respond to terrorism?” and an engaging “debate” format to capture student interest and encourage them to think critically, appreciate diverse perspectives, and consider the real-world applications of chapter concepts.
  • Each of the core chapters concludes with a unique Point of View section featuring two primary source readings that offer varied perspectives on an issue, enabling students to engage directly with current ideas and arguments in order to refine their own views.
  • Key terms are defined in a running glossary in the page margins, allowing students to identify important concepts easily, learn useful terms without interrupting their reading, and focus their study and review effectively.

Table of Contents

{{collapseContainerClosed['table-of-contents'] ? 'Show More' : 'Show Less'}}
1. Change and Continuity in International History.
2. Contending Perspectives on International Politics.
3. Power Politics.
4. War and Democracy.
5. War and “Human Nature”.
6. Free Trade.
7. The IMF, Global Inequality, and Development.
8. Globalization and Sovereignty.
9. International Law.
10. The United Nations and Humanitarian Intervention.
11. Nuclear Proliferation.
12. International Terrorism.
13. The Global Commons.
Index.

Compare Buying Options

{{collapseContainerClosed['compare-buying-options'] ? 'Show More' : 'Show Less'}}

Textbook Only Options

Traditional eBook and Print Options

{{collapseContainerClosed['detail_0'] ? 'Show More' : 'Show Less'}}

  • ISBN-10: 130567880X
  • ISBN-13: 9781305678804
  • RETAIL $84.95

  • ISBN-10: 1285865162
  • ISBN-13: 9781285865164
  • RETAIL $209.95
Instructor Next Steps
Students: Buy now