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This excellent reference book will be the first point of call for students wishing to quickly make sense of the key texts of the discipline; without shying away from controversy the authors illuminate and clarify the central conceptual debates of International Relations
Christopher MayProfessor of Political Economy, Lancaster University
It is useful for students to use it as a handbook of key concepts in IR. Concepts are very well defined with their theoretical background. I already adopted it in February 2018, and I have been using it since then. I forgot to send a feedback, and hence, I had to choose January 2020 as the decision date.
The book is well written and I recommend it for all students who want to be familiar with IR. Although it is titled Key Concepts, it is actually more than concepts and more like a text book in a dictionary form. It includes sections on theory, methodology and empirical issues for each entry and is therefore quite comprehensive. I also found it quite upto date incorporating new concepts and controversies of discussion.
This is a very useful reference book - the kind students should always have at hand, to refer to when in doubt about a particular concept or theoretical approach in International Relations. Each chapter is written in a very clear and pedagogic style, while avoiding oversimplifications, and follows the same, very good structure, starting with core questions, and moving on to definitions/overview/background, theoretical perspectives, empirical problems/criticisms, core readings and useful websites.
This is an excellent resource to get a first grasp of an issue. It seems to be appropriate for advanced as well as for new students of IR and I'm looking forward to using it.
While the book provides a good dictionary of concepts, the treatment of each one was a bit too cursory for my purposes.
Since the course focuses on a very specific and narrow topic, the notion of power in IR, this book will be a useful integration for B.A. students who wish to get fast information on some other concept in IR, for example balance of power or hegemony. The book provides excellent overviews on key concepts and suitable essential reading lists as well as links to relevant websites.
Good general introduction to key concepts in IR. Good background reading for students approaching IR for the first time.
Well structured (core question, definition, theoretical perspective, etc.).
Lacks of concrete examples illustrating the commented concepts.
Some other concepts may be touched upon (e.g. international organisations, supranationalism, asymetry, etc.)
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