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Bruce Bueno de Mesquita’s groundbreaking text, now in its third edition, presents a comprehensive treatment of the international relations field while introducing students to the analytic power of the strategic perspective. Building gradually, and with great theoretical coherence, Principles of International Politics shows students how leaders translate their personal interests and ambitions into actions of the state—demonstrating how domestic politics must be factored into any study of the international arena.

With extensive class-testing and instructor feedback in hand, Bueno de Mesquita provides step-by-step explanations of game theoretic principles. Using both everyday and political examples to explain ideas and teach skills, now even novices will find Principles an accessible and exciting introduction to the study of international relations. The book’s users boast improved student evaluations, better prepared political science majors, and more adept scientific thinkers. New and improved learning aids help students master key concepts, enhancing accessibility in major ways:

• Chapter-opening learning objectives orient students to central principles and give them clear guidance for critical reading.
• Highlighted key terms help students identify and define major concepts and issues.
• Key term lists at the end of each chapter, complete with page references, help students review and study.
• An improved glossary defines all of the book’s core terminology.
• Endnote documentation replaces in-text citations and significantly enhances the book’s narrative flow.

A thorough update as well, the third edition features greatly expanded consideration of nation-building and democratization, terrorism, and foreign aid problems. Students can also count on analysis of important recent events, with a special focus on the U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; changes in regimes and updates on peace negotiations in the Middle East; foreign aid concerns in North Korea and various countries in Africa; the increasing power of the EU as an international organization; and Russian attempts at re-privatization. New and fully integrated consideration of constructivism as one of the major alternative approaches to international relations gives students a more comprehensive picture of the various ways one can study international politics.

Find out more about Principles of International Politics, 3rd Edition.

Newly expanded workbook accompanies Principles, 3rd Edition! New class-tested, user-friendly exercises for the workbook walk students through the building blocks of the strategic method, ensuring that even novice students have the opportunity to develop and hone their problem solving skills and can successfully apply what they have learned in the text. The third edition of this invaluable workbook introduces students to a wide range of problems so that they master basic principles as well as test their capabilities with more challenging material.

Find out more about Applying the Strategic Perspective, 3rd Edition.

Jump to Applying the Strategic Perspective, 3rd Edition Table of Contents.

Principles of International Politics, 3rd Edition Contents

Tables, Figures, and Maps
Preface

Introduction: Foundations of International Politics
Governing Principles
Organizational Features of this Book
The Core Concerns of International Relations
Solving International Relations Puzzles
Summary
Suggested Reading
Key Concepts

1. Modern Political History and International Politics
The Fourteen Hundreds
The Fifteen Hundreds
The Sixteen Hundreds
The Seventeen Hundreds
The Eighteen Hundreds
The Twentieth Century
Key Concepts

2. Evaluating Arguments about International Politics
Theories as Simplifications of Reality
Judging Theories
The First Principle of Wing-Walking
The Case Study Method and Testing Theories
A Standard for Comparing Theories
Why Do We Need Theories?
The Scientific Method as a Guide to Arguments and Evidence
When a Theory Is Wrong
Scientific Theories Must Be Falsifiable
Summary
Key Concepts

3. Christopher Columbus and International Relations
Columbus’s Proposal, or Ferdinand and Isabella’s Ambition
Factors That Shape Foreign Policy Choices
Discovering America: An Evaluation of Political Economy and National Security
Lessons Suggested by Columbus’s Experience
Tools and Solutions: An Illustration of the Use of Decision Theory in the Study of International Relations
Game Theory, or Why You Can’t Always Get What You Want
Summary
Key Concepts

4. International Politics from a Structural Perspective
Evaluating Alternative Principles
Defining the Puzzles of Cooperation and Conflict
Structural Perspectives
Summary
Key Concepts

5. International Politics from Group and Decision-Making Perspectives
The Bureaucratic, or Interest Group, Perspective
Strategic Perspective
Constructivism
Comparing the Core Perspectives
The Three Perspectives Illustratively Applied to Columbus
Summary
Key Concepts

6. Domestic Politics and International Interactions: The Central Units of Analysis
The Origins of the State
International Relations Without the State
Domestic Politics as an Alternative to the State
How Domestic Politics Changes the National Interest
End of the Cold War: Win Sets as a Tool for Understanding Policy
Alternative Interpretations of the Domestic Politics Example
Summary
Key Concepts

7. What Is Power?
Defining Power
Methods of Exercising Power
Measuring Power
The Fungibility of Power
Projecting Power over Larger Distances
Summary
Key Concepts

8. Limits to Power
Power and Military Victory
Power Can Be Cyclical
Coordination and Power
Distribution Problems, Coordination Problems, and Power
International Organizations: An Alternative to or Reflection of Power
Power and Motivation
Asymmetric Motivation and Costs
The Exercise of Power
Summary
Key Concepts

9. Preferences in International Politics
Preferred Values and American Foreign Policy: An Illustration
What Are Preferences?
Rationality and Preferences
Preferences and Constrained Choices
Foreign Aid, Preferences, and Decisions
Constrained Choice in International Relations: Some Examples
Social Choice Problems: Is There a National Interest?
Common Circumstances Without the Social Choice Problem
Summary
Key Concepts

10. Perceptions in International Affairs
Perceptions and Reality
Perceptions and Trade Sanctions: An Illustration
Summary
Key Concepts

11. Perceptions, Deterrence, and Terrorism
Perceptions and Deterrence
North Korea’s Artful Use of Misconduct
Perceptions and Deterrence: The Wars in Iraq, 1991 and 2003
Beliefs about Terrorism
Terrorism, Credible Commitments, and Strategic Dilemmas
Land for Peace: A Credible Commitment Problem
Summary
Key Concepts

12. Domestic Institutions and National Performance
Universal Political Institutions
Tools to Remain in Power
Winning Coalition Size and Trade Policy
Evidence: Winning Coalition Size and Economic Performance
Winning Coalition Size and National Survival
Domestic Institutions and Foreign Aid
Domestic Institutions and Democratization: Nation Building
Summary
Key Concepts

13. The International Political Economy of Trade
Globalization in Historical Perspective
An Economics Primer: Comparative Advantage, Supply, and Demand
Trade as a Public or Private Good
Currency, Exchange Rates, and International Political Economy
Political Economy and Trade
Factors of Production
Mobility of Factors of Production
Summary
Key Concepts

14. International Organizations and International Law
International Law, Organizations, and Regimes: Definitions and Distinctions
Can We Evaluate the Effects of International Regimes?
Sovereignty: A Successful International Institution
The Purpose of International Rules and Institutions
Member Inclusiveness: Trade-offs between Regime Efficiency and Effectiveness
Organizational Decision-Making Rules
Compliance and Effectiveness
Summary
Key Concepts

15. Alliances
What Is a Military Alliance?
The Purpose of Alliances
When Are Alliances Reliable?
Predicting the Reliability of Alliances
Alliances, Coordination, and Competition
Conflict among Allies
Summary
Key Concepts

16. The Causes of War: Structural Accounts
War vs. Negotiation: Indivisibility, Uncertainty, and Commitment
Realist Theories of War
How Well Does Neorealism Do in Explaining War and Instability?
History and Neorealist Empirical Claims
Other Neorealist Hypotheses and the Historical Record
The Power Transition: A Structural Alternative to Neorealism
Summary
Key Concepts

17. Strategic Theories of War
The International Interaction Game and War
Arms Races, Deterrence, and War
Other Hypotheses about War
Summary
Key Concepts

18. A Predictive Model of International Affairs
Logical Foundation of the Model
Perceptual Analysis
Estimating the Model
Why Does This Model Help?
Intuition Behind the Model’s Dynamics
Developing the Data
Model Output
Prediction and International Relations
Using the Model
Key Concepts

Notes
Glossary of Key Terms
Subject Index
Citations of Authors

Applying the Strategic Perspective, 3rd Edition Contents

Tables and Figures
Note to Students

Introduction: Foundations of International Politics
Chapter Concepts
Key Concepts

1. Modern Political Economic History and International Politics
Chapter Concepts
Historical Trends

2. Evaluating Arguments about International Politics
Chapter Concepts
Understanding Critical Elements of Theory and Social Science

3. Christopher Columbus and International Relations
Chapter Concepts
Making Sense of Strategic Interaction
Expected Utility
Decision Theory
Solving for Critical Conditions
Game Theory

4. International Politics from a Structural Perspective
Chapter Concepts
Structural Perspectives
The Prisoners’ Dilemma
Solving the Prisoners’ Dilemma
Examples of Prisoners’ Dilemma in International Politics
Other Strategic Form Games
Cooperation and Public Goods

5. International Politics from Group and Decision-making Perspectives
Chapter Concepts
Organizational Rules
Principal-Agent Models
Indifference Curves
Extensions

6. Domestic Politics and International Interactions: The Central Units of Analysis
Chapter Concepts
States in the International System
Spatial Modeling
Extensions

7. What Is Power?
Chapter Concepts
The Faces of Power
The Anticipation of Power
Punishment Applied
Extensions

8. Limits to Power
Chapter Concepts
Mixed Strategy Equilibria
War, Power, Winning, and Motivation

9. Preferences in International Politics
Chapter Concepts
Instrumental Rationality
The Median Voter Theorem
Extensions

10. Perceptions in International Affairs
Chapter Concepts
Dealing with Incomplete Information in Game Theory
Extensions

11. Perceptions, Deterrence, and Terrorism
Chapter Concepts
Deterrence
Terrorism
Extensions

12. Domestic Institutions and National Performance
Chapter Concepts
Selectorates, Winning Coalitions, and Types of Government
Private and Public Goods
Maintaining Political Power
Extensions

13. The International Political Economy of Trade
Chapter Concepts
Comparative Advantage and Trade
Extensions

14. International Organizations and International Law
Chapter Concepts
Identifying International Regimes
The Formation of Weak International Agreements
Extensions

15. Alliances
Chapter Concepts
Exploring Alliances
Assessing Alliance Reliability
Extensions

16. The Causes of War: Structural Accounts
Chapter Concepts
Extensions

17. Strategic Theories of War
Chapter Concepts
The International Interaction Game: Walk-through
Solving the International Interaction Game Using Backwards Induction
Extensions

18. A Predictive Model of International Affairs
Chapter Concepts
Exploring the Forecaster’s Predictions for World War I
Extensions

Bruce Bueno de Mesquita is Silver Professor and Chair of Politics and Director of the Center for Conflict Resolution and Multilateral Cooperation at New York University and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He is an expert on international conflict, foreign policy formation, the peace process, and nationbuilding. He is the author of many books including The Logic of Political Survival with Alastair Smith, Randolph M. Siverson, and James D. Morrow; War and Reason with David Lalman; Predicting Politics; and The War Trap, as well as one novel, The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge.

Bueno de Mesquita is the Managing Partner of Mesquita & Roundell, LLC, a consultancy. In 1985, he won the Karl W. Deutsch Award in International Relations and Peace Research, given biannually to the scholar under the age of forty judged to have made, through a body of publications, the most significant contribution to the study of international relations and peace research. In 1992, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 1999, he received an honorary degree from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. He was president of the International Studies Association in 2001-2002.

D. Scott Bennett is associate professor of Political Science at the Pennsylvania State University. He studies the causes and consequences of international conflict, including international crises, disputes, and wars, and employs statistical, formal, and computational methods in conducting analysis. Most recently, he is the co-author of The Behavioral Origins of War with Allan Stam.

Leanne C. Powner is a PhD candidate in World Politics in the University of Michigan's Department of Political Science. Her research interests are international cooperation and international organizations. She has presented papers on teaching and learning at APSA and ISA conferences, and is the webmaster of the Active Learning in International Affairs section of the ISA.

Principles of International Politics: People's Power, Preferences, and Perceptions, 3rd Edition

Applying the Strategic Perspective: Problems and Models, 3rd Edition Workbook