This textbook offers a different way of teaching global politics. Many of us have long been dissatisfied with traditional introductions, which seem to fall into two camps – either starting with various ‘theoretical approaches’, or introducing global politics as a series of ‘issues’, or indeed offering some combination of the two. Beginning with contending approaches, while radical and inspiring when first introduced in the late 1980s, has become well-worn and somewhat formulaic. Beginning with issues as an alternative can be equally frustrating. Although this new book includes both approaches and issues, it does not prioritise either. Instead, it begins with questions.
People come to the study of global politics with a series of questions about how to conceptualise the world and their place within it, motivated often by a desire for change. To give an example, many of these questions concern how we live in a world where so many people are brought together in such proximity. Who are ‘we’ anyway? Are we individuals, first and foremost, or social beings? What forms of identity do we adopt and why? What happens when things go wrong and we end up with wars and conflicts or severe economic inequalities?
The approach that this book presents takes questions like these as its starting point. It uses them to draw out the concrete historical and geographical locations within which the questions are situated, examine the challenge and complexity of response, and emphasise the need to think carefully about the broader assumptions or theoretical approaches that underlie the questions we ask as well as the responses we give. Each chapter thus follows the same structure, with sections examining the question, an example, what responses there might be and broader issues raised. Taking students’ questions seriously in this way fosters engagement, empowers and inspires students, and provides a sound basis for further study.
BOX 1 AIM OF THE BOOK
Rather than asking students to set their questions aside whilst they study ‘theory’ or ‘issues’, the book tackles the questions people bring with them head on.
As we say in the introduction and explore again in the concluding chapter, this textbook, unlike Calvin’s maths textbook in the cartoon below, doesn’t give answers – magic or otherwise – to be learned and taken on faith. In our view, the questions that the various chapters pose can be addressed in different ways and from different perspectives, and there are no final answers to be had: only more questions. As we say at the end of the conclusion, the questions remain intractable, there for each new generation – from the generation of students of 1968 to that of Black Lives Matter and beyond – to formulate and tackle anew.
Moreover, we would stress, following Jacques Rancière, that we all – students and professors alike – approach the questions as people of equal intelligence. As two people intrigued by many of the same puzzles brought by people new to the study of international politics, our goal in this book is to treat their questions as important, show that others agree and trace how some people have thought about them.
The book employs a number of pedagogical tools to do its job. Although the book tackles profound questions, it addresses these in a clear and accessible way. The language used is straightforward; any terms that might be difficult are carefully explained, sometimes in brackets, sometimes in marginal comments. Because the different questions that the book examines are intertwined, there are links from chapter to chapter. Throughout the book, more information about particular thinkers, detailed explanations of issues referred to, and background about historical events is given in boxes that appear alongside the main discussion. The numerous illustrations aid understanding as well as emphasising the actual people and places involved in global politics. Cartoons provide pointed reflections and humorous asides.
In its illustrative examples, the book covers many parts of the world and is wide in its historical scope. A range of different issues and events are covered, and thinkers who have addressed global questions in a variety of ways discussed. An index of names lists thinkers and other people mentioned in the course of the text for ease of reference, alongside a general index that includes places, events and concepts, issues and topics, ideologies and theories introduced and indicates where each is covered in the book.
There are many different ways of approaching the design of a course in global politics that uses this book – either the whole book or a selection of chapters. Some people have used the book with an existing course that approaches the subject through theoretical approaches or issues. The range of material presented in the book makes it possible to select material to fit an existing framework. However, many more people have taken the opportunity to teach and design courses in the entirely new way that the book proposes – focusing on questions – with all the advantages this allows.
The book is designed with newcomers to the field in mind, whether first- or second-year undergraduates, or, indeed, graduate students. It is equally suitable for private study. The text does not assume any previous knowledge, and carefully explains new concepts and events as and when they are encountered. It works well as the text for an introductory course, and in our experience those who have not encountered the area before find the style and approach both accessible and intellectually challenging. The book is accessible in the way it is presented, but it does not shy away from the difficult and complex questions of global politics. We have found that those we teach appreciate this approach and enjoy tackling the challenges that the difficult questions of contemporary political life pose to us all.
The chapters can be read in any order – we have grouped them in a certain way, but they can be read in a different order too. Each chapter stands on its own and does not assume knowledge of concepts explained in earlier chapters, though there will often be cross-references in the marginal comments to places in the book where additional discussion of concepts, places, events, or writers appear. And each chapter is written by a different author, giving the reader a series of distinct views, approaches and styles – within the overall framework of four sections in each chapter. We would suggest that it would be useful to read the introduction first, though, since it sets out in more detail the framework and ethos of the book and discusses reading strategies; and the concluding chapter draws out some important issues related to the book as a whole.