Africa and the Expansion of International Society

Africa and the Expansion of International Society
Author: John Anthony Pella, Jr
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 205
Release: 2014-08-21
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1317653076

This book explores the West-Central African role in, and experience during, the expansion of international society. Building upon theoretical contributions from the English School of international relations, historical sociology and sociology, it departs from Euro-centric assumptions by analysing how West-Central Africa and West-Central Africans were integral to the ways in which Europe and Africa came together from the fifteenth century through to the twentieth. Initially, diverse scholarship concerned with the expansion of international society is examined, revealing how the process has often been understood as one dictated by Europeans. From there a new approach is developed, one which is better able to examine the expansion as an interactive process between individuals, and which puts the African experience at the heart of study. The empirical research that follows this draws upon primary sources to introduce a number of historically significant and ground-breaking cases into international relations, including; the international relations of West-Central Africa before the European arrival, the emergence and growth of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the attempts to ‘civilize’ Africa, and the ‘scramble’ to colonize Africa. This book argues that the expansion of international society was driven by individual interaction, and was shaped by both Africans and Europeans. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of international relations, international relations theory, history, African politics, the English school and constructivism. Author John Anthony Pella introduces his book African and the Expansion of International Society: Surrendering the Savannah http://www.routledge.com/politics/articles/featured_author_john_anthony_pella/

The Globalization of International Society

The Globalization of International Society
Author: Tim Dunne
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 465
Release: 2017-01-19
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0192516396

The Globalization of International Society re-examines the development of today's society of sovereign states, drawing on a wealth of new scholarship to challenge the landmark account presented in Bull and Watson's classic work, The Expansion of International Society (OUP, 1984). For Bull and Watson, international society originated in Europe, and expanded as successive waves of new states were integrated into a rule-governed order. International society, on their view, was thus a European cultural artefact - a claim that is at odds with recent scholarship in history, politics, and related fields of research. Bringing together leading scholars from Asia, Australia, Europe, and the United States, this book provides an alternative account: it draws out the diversity of polities that existed at around c1500; it shows how interacting identities, political orders, and economic forces were intensifying within and across regions; it details the tangled dynamics that helped to globalize the European conception of a pluralist international society, through patterns of warfare and between East and West. The Globalization of International Society examines the institutional contours of contemporary international society, with its unique blend of universal sovereignty and global law, and its forms of hierarchy that coexist with commitments to international human rights. The book explores the multiple forms of contestation that challenge international society today: contests over the limits of sovereignty in relation to cosmopolitan conceptions of responsibility, disputes over global governance, concerns about persistent economic, racial, and gender-based patterns of disadvantage, and lastly the threat to the established order opened up by the disruptive power of digital communications.

Africa and International Relations in the 21st Century

Africa and International Relations in the 21st Century
Author: S. Cornelissen
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 353
Release: 2016-01-26
Genre: History
ISBN: 0230355749

This book examines key emergent trends related to aspects of power, sovereignty, conflict, peace, development, and changing social dynamics in the African context. It challenges conventional IR precepts of authority, politics and society, which have proven to be so inadequate in explaining African processes. Rather, this edited collection analyses the significance of many of the uncharted dimensions of Africa's international relations, such as the respatialisation of African societies through migration, and the impacts this process has had on state power; the various ways in which both formal and informal authority and economies are practised; and the dynamics and impacts of new transnational social movements on African politics. Finally, attention is paid to Africa's place in a shifting global order, and the implications for African international relations of the emergence of new world powers and/or alliances. This edition includes a new preface by the editors, which brings the findings of the book up-to-date, and analyses the changes that are likely to impact upon global governance and human development in policy and practice in Africa and the wider world post-2015.

History of International Relations

History of International Relations
Author: Erik Ringmar
Publisher: Open Book Publishers
Total Pages: 233
Release: 2019-08-02
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1783740256

Existing textbooks on international relations treat history in a cursory fashion and perpetuate a Euro-centric perspective. This textbook pioneers a new approach by historicizing the material traditionally taught in International Relations courses, and by explicitly focusing on non-European cases, debates and issues. The volume is divided into three parts. The first part focuses on the international systems that traditionally existed in Europe, East Asia, pre-Columbian Central and South America, Africa and Polynesia. The second part discusses the ways in which these international systems were brought into contact with each other through the agency of Mongols in Central Asia, Arabs in the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean, Indic and Sinic societies in South East Asia, and the Europeans through their travels and colonial expansion. The concluding section concerns contemporary issues: the processes of decolonization, neo-colonialism and globalization – and their consequences on contemporary society. History of International Relations provides a unique textbook for undergraduate and graduate students of international relations, and anybody interested in international relations theory, history, and contemporary politics.

Unlocking Africa's Business Potential

Unlocking Africa's Business Potential
Author: Landry Signe
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
Total Pages: 361
Release: 2020-04-07
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0815737394

Africa welcomes business investment and offers some of the world's highest returns and impacts Africa has tremendous economic potential and offers rewarding opportunities for global businesses looking for new markets and long-term investments with favorable returns. Africa has been one of the world's fastest-growing regions over the past decade, and by 2030 will be home to nearly 1.7 billion people and an estimated $6.7 trillion worth of consumer and business spending. Increased political stability in recent years and improving regional integration are making market access easier, and business expansion will generate jobs for women and youth, who represent the vast majority of the population. Current economic growth and poverty-alleviation efforts mean that more than 43 percent of the continent's people will reach middle- or upper-class status by 2030. Unlocking Africa's Business Potential examines business opportunities in the eight sectors with the highest potential returns on private investment—the same sectors that will foster economic growth and diversification, job creation, and improved general welfare. These sectors include: consumer markets, agriculture and agriprocessing, information and communication technology, manufacturing, oil and gas, tourism, banking, and infrastructure and construction. The book's analysis of these sectors is based on case studies that identify specific opportunities for investment and growth, along with long-term market projections to inform decision-making. The book identifies potential risks to business and offers mitigation strategies. It also provides policymakers with solutions to attract new business investments, including how to remove barriers to business and accelerate development of the private sector.

Decolonization and African Society

Decolonization and African Society
Author: Frederick Cooper
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 702
Release: 1996-08-28
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780521566001

This detailed and authoritative volume changes our conceptions of 'imperial' and 'African' history. Frederick Cooper gathers a vast range of archival sources in French and English to achieve a truly comparative study of colonial policy toward the recruitment, control, and institutionalization of African labor forces from the mid 1930s, when the labor question was first posed, to the late 1950s, when decolonization was well under way. Professor Cooper explores colonial conceptions of the African worker and shows how African trade union and political leaders used the new language of social change to claim equality and a share of power. This helped to persuade European officials that the 'modern' Africa they imagined was unaffordable. Britain and France could not reshape African society. As they left the continent, the question was how they had affected the ways in which Africans could reorganize society themselves.

The Evolution of International Society

The Evolution of International Society
Author: Adam Watson
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 337
Release: 1992
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780415069991

In this uniquely comprehensive historical study, Adam Watson draws on a lifetime of research and diplomatic experience to explain how international societies function. He examines the systems of ancient states, from Sumer through India, China, Greece, Rome, and Islam, and conducts an in-depth analysis of the worldwide contemporary society which developed from them. The Evolution of International Society describes and compares the changing rules and practices of ancient systems, showing their development within a spectrum ranging from loose international societies of many independent states ordered by some degree of hegemony, to tighter imperial systems tempered by some measure of autonomy. The book demonstrates in convincing detail that political entities have usually co-existed, not in an anarchic state of nature, but organized by agreed rules and practices that derive substantially from past experience. The author also shows that our present international society, although distinct, is only the latest in a series. Lucidly and straightforwardly written, with a strong emphasis on practice, the book makes a major contribution to international theory and to our understanding of international relations.

Our Continent, Our Future

Our Continent, Our Future
Author: P. Thandika Mkandawire
Publisher: IDRC
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2014-05-14
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 155250204X

Our Continent, Our Future presents the emerging African perspective on this complex issue. The authors use as background their own extensive experience and a collection of 30 individual studies, 25 of which were from African economists, to summarize this African perspective and articulate a path for the future. They underscore the need to be sensitive to each country's unique history and current condition. They argue for a broader policy agenda and for a much more active role for the state within what is largely a market economy. Finally, they stress that Africa must, and can, compete in an increasingly globalized world and, perhaps most importantly, that Africans must assume the leading role in defining the continent's development agenda.

Hedley Bull On International Society

Hedley Bull On International Society
Author: NA NA
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 285
Release: 2019-06-12
Genre: Science
ISBN: 134962666X

Hedley Bull was one of the most important figures in the academic study of international relations. Although his work ranged widely, one simple but powerful idea constantly recurs: that sovereign states form among themselves a society and that this society must be understood on its own terms. The end of the Cold War and developments within international relations theory have once again thrown the social dimension of world politics into sharp relief. Although many have read Hedley Bull's The Anarchical Society, few are familiar with the breadth and range of his writing. This collection brings together Bull's most important work on international society, illustrating the richness and analytical rigour of his thought, and its evolution over time. The volume includes a comprehensive introduction which examines Bull's conception of international society, its relationship to contemporary theories of world politics, and its continued relevance to our understanding of the post-Cold War world.