Prac Judgem in Int Political Theory

Chris Brown is a prominent international political theorist who has contributed to debates on pluralism, justice and human rights. This book draws together seventeen of his most important and influential articles from the last twenty years.
These essays include influential statements on the role of normative theory and international ethics, the so-called ‘cosmopolitan-communitarian debate’ and anti-foundationalist thought in international relations, as well as important contributions to Rawlsian and Post-Rawlsian theories of international and global justice. The most recent papers address subjects such as the notion of global civil society, and controversies over the ethics of pre-emptive warfare, and the inevitably selective nature of humanitarian interventions.

The book includes a framing introduction written for this volume, in which Brown discusses his own influences, and the evolution of his thinking throughout his career. Although this evolution has involved a progressively less critical viewpoint towards liberal thought and liberal internationalism, and a greater commitment to universal values, some things have remained constant – in particular a focus on the importance of political judgement and scepticism directed towards the idea that there are simple solutions to complex problems. The collection ends fittingly with a critique of the popular cosmopolitanism of figures such as Bono and Bob Geldof.

This collection will be essential reading for all scholars and graduates with an interest in international political theory.

Chris Brown is Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science and a former Chair of the British International Studies Association. He is the author of Understanding International Relations (4th ed. 2009, with Kirsten Ainley), Sovereignty, Rights and Justice (2002), International Relations Theory: New Normative Approaches (1992), editor of Political Restructuring in Europe: Ethical Perspectives (1994) and co-editor of International Relations in Political Thought: Texts from the Ancient Greeks to the First World War (2002).

1. Introduction: A Life in Theory Part I. Communitarians and Cosmopolitans 2. The Modern Requirement: Reflections on Normative Theory in a Post-Western World 3. Ethics of Co-Existence: The International Theory of Terry Nardin 4. International Theory and International Society: The Viability of the Middle Way 5. Universal Human Rights: A Critique 6. Towards a Neo-Aristotelian Resolution of the Communitarian Cosmopolitan Debate 7. Cultural Diversity and International Political Theory 8. The Construction of a Realistic Utopia: John Rawls and International Political Theory Part II. The Discourse of International Relations 9. Not my Department? Normative Theory and International Relations 10. Hegel and International Ethics 11. Turtles all the way down: Antifoundationalism, Critical theory and International Relations 12. Liberalism and The Globalisation of Ethics 13. Tragedy, Tragic Choices and International Political Theory Part III. The Exercise of Judgement 14. Cosmopolitanism, World Citizenship and Global Civil Society 15. On Morality, Self-Interest and Foreign Policy 16. Selective Humanitarianism: In Defence of Inconsistency 17. Practical Judgement and the Ethics of Pre-emption 18. Bob Dylan, Live Aid, and the Politics of Popular Cosmopolitanism