John T. Rourke, Ph.D., professor emeritus, is former head of the Department of Political Science at The University of Connecticut. He is author of International Politics on the World Stage, Eleventh Edition (McGraw-Hill, 2007); the author of Presidential Wars and American Democracy: Rally 'Round the Chief (Paragon House, 1993); a coauthor of Direct Democracy and International Politics: Deciding International Issues through Referendums (Lynn Rienner, 1992); the editor of Taking Sides: Clashing Views in World Politics, Twelfth Edition, expanded (McGraw-Hill, 2007) and You Decide: Current Debates in American Politics (Longman, 2005); the author of Making Foreign Policy: United States, Soviet Union, China (Brooks Cole, 1990), Congress and the Presidency in U.S. Foreign Policymaking (Westview, 1985), and numerous articles and papers. He continues to teach and especially enjoys introductory classes. His regard for the students has molded his approach to writing-he conveys scholarship in a language and within a frame of reference that undergraduates can appreciate. Rourke believes, as the theme of this book reflects, that politics affect us all and we can affect politics. Rourke practices what he propounds; his career long involved the university's internship program and advising one of its political clubs. Additionally, he has served as a staff member of Connecticut's legislature, and has been involved in political campaigns on the local, state, and national levels.
Mark A. Boyer, Ph.D. is a professor of political science at The University of Connecticut. He received the 2004 UConn Alumni Association Award for Excellence in Teaching at the Graduate Level, the American Political Science Association's 2000 Rowman & Littlefield Award for Innovation in the Teaching of Political Science, and the 2001 UConn Chancellor's Information Technology Award. He is coauthor with Davis B. Bobrow of Defensive Internationalism (University of Michigan Press, 2005), coauthor with Brigid Starkey and Jonathan Wilkenfeld of Negotiating a Complex World (Rowman & Littlefield, 1999), and author of International Cooperation and Public Goods (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993). He has also published numerous articles in such journals as the Journal of Conflict Resolution, Simulation and Games, Journal of Peace Research, Review of International Political Economy, Diplomacy and Statecraft, Instructional Science, and others. Boyer is co-director of the GlobalEd Project (globaled.uconn.edu), which conducts computer-assisted international studies simulations for middle school and high school students throughout the United States. In 1992-93 he was a Pew Faculty Fellow in International Affairs, and from 1986 to 1988, an SSRC-MacArthur Fellow in International Peace and Security Studies. A strong proponent of active forms of learning, Boyer applies a wide mix of teaching approaches, ranging from case teaching to various types of simulations. His emphasis on active learning is reflected throughout this book and also in the Web site that accompanies the book.

Chapter 1 - Thinking and Caring About World Politics Previewing the Global Drama Global Actors: Meet the Cast Alternative Approaches to World Politics The Importance of World Politics to Each of Us World Politics and Your Finances International Trade and Your Finances The Flow of International Capital and Your Finances Defense Spending and Your Finances World Politics and Your Living Space World Politics and Your Life Transmational Diseases Transnational Political Violence You Can Make a Difference Taking Direct Action Voting Becoming a Policy Maker Thinking Theoretically: Putting World Events in Context Realist Theory Classic Realism and Neorealism Realism: An Emphasis on Power Realism and the Competitive Future Liberal Theory Classic Liberalism and Neoliberalism Liberalism: An Emphasis on Cooperation Liberalism and the Cooperative Future Postmodernist, Feminist, and Economic Theories Postmodernist Theory Feminist Theory Economic Theories Constructivist Theory Constructivism and the Nature of Politics Constructivism and the Course of World Politics Assessing Theories Chapter Summary
Chapter 2 - The Evolution of World Politics The Evolving World System: Early Development Ancient Greece and Rome After the Fall of Rome, A.D. 476 to 1700 Universal Authority in the Middle Ages Local Authority in the Middle Ages The Decline of the Feudal System The Decline of Universalistic Authority The Emergence of the Sovereign State The 18th and 19th Centuries The Evolving World System: The Twentieth Century The Rise and Deline of the Bipolar System The end of the Bipolar System The Twenty-First Century: The Genesis of a New System The Polar Power Structure in the Twenty-First Century A Unipolar Moment The Multipolar Urge Limited Unipolarity Future Polarity Other Power Changes in the Twenty-First Century The Weakening Western Orientation of the International System Challenges to the Authority of the State Security in the Twenty-First Century Global Economics in the 21st Century Economic Independence Economic Disparity between North and South Quality of Life in the 21st Century Human Rights The Environment Chapter Summary Chapter 3 - Levels of Analysis and Foreign Policy Individual-Level Analysis Humans as a Species Cognitive Factors Emotional Factors Psychological Factors Biological Factors Gender Organizational Behavior Role Behavior Decision-Making Behavior within Organizations Leaders and Their Individual Traits Personality Physical and Mental Health Ego and Ambition Political History and Personal Experiences Perceptions and Operational Reality Policy as a Mix of Rational and Irrational Factors State-Level Analysis Making Foreign Policy: Type of Government, Situation, and Policy Type of Government and the Foreign Policy Process Type of Situation and the Foreign Policy Process Type of Policy and the Foreign Policy Process Making Foreign Policy: Political Culture Foreign Policy-Making Actors System-Level Analysis Structural Characteristics The Organization of Authority Scope, Level, and Intensity of Interactions Power Relationships The Number of Powerful Actors The Context of Power Economic Realities Norms Chapter Summary Chapter 4 - Nationalism: The Traditional Orientation Understanding Nations, Nationalism, and Nation-States Nations, Nationalism, and Nation-States Defined Nations Nationalism Nation-States The Rise of Ascendancy of Nationalism Early Nationalism Ascendant Modern Nationalism Patterns of Nation-State Formation Nationalism in Practice: Issues and Evaluation Nation-States: More Myth than Reality One State, One Nation One State, Multiple Nations One Nation, Multiple States One Nation, No State Multiple Nations, Multiple States Positive and Negative Aspects of Nationalism Positive Nationalism Negative Nationalism Self-Determination as a Goal Positive Aspects of Self-Determination Concerns about Self-Determination Nationalism and the Future The Recent Past and Present of Nationalism The Predicted Demise of Nationalism Persistent Nat

This concise text provides students and instructors with a comprehensive overview of world politics, inviting them in a straightforward and accessible way to explore international relations and its new challenges. A hallmark of the text is the authors' position that politics affect the lives of all of us, and that the individual can have an impact, whether small or large, by being politically aware and by taking action. The eighth edition includes an enhanced art program with 7 more charts and analyses and updates of currents including economic trends, possibilities of a new direction in U.S. foreign policy under the Obama administration, global environment issues and much more.