International Relations Then and Now

A. J. R. Groom is Emeritus Professor of the University of Kent and holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Tampere in Finland. He has also taught at University College London and has been Guest Professor at the Graduate Institute Geneva – where he was awarded a PhD – Renmin University and Xi’an International Studies University of China, Sciences-Po Paris, the IEP de Lille, the Diplomatische Akademie Wien, the Universities of Colorado Boulder, University of Southern California, Dalhousie, Cape Town, and the University of Turin. Professor Groom has been particularly active in professional associations, having been the Founder and for ten years Chairman of the European Standing Group for International Relations, Chairman of BISA and Vice-President of ISA, a member of the Executive Committee of the European Consortium for Political Research and a Board Member of the Academic Council for the United Nations System. He has been Editor of the academic journals Global Society and ERIS. His academic interests include conflict resolution, track II diplomacy, international organisations, functionalism and European politics. Among his other interests are opera and music, food and wine and travel. He is a fervent supporter of Lincoln City, from where he hails.André Barrinha is a Lecturer in International Security at the University of Bath and a Researcher at the Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, Portugal. Dr Barrinha joined the University of Bath in September 2017, having previously worked at the University of Coimbra and Canterbury Christ Church University. He holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of Kent. From 2004 to 2006 he was a researcher at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies, Lisbon. His mains research interests are within the fields of Critical Security Studies, European Security and International Relations Theory. Dr Barrinha is one of the coordinators of the UACES RN INTERSECT: Technology-Security-Society interplays in Europe. Between 2016 and 2018 he was one of the founders and conveners of the British International Studies Association European Security Working Group.The late William C. Olson was a retired Dean and Professor Emeritus of American University’s School of International Service and founder of the international collegiate honor society Sigma Iota Rho. From 1970 to 1979, he directed the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio study and conference centre on Lake Como in Italy. Earlier in his career, he directed the Foreign Affairs Division of what is now the Congressional Research Service at the Library of Congress and was an Associate Dean of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. He was a trustee of the Social Science Foundation at the University of Denver and what is now known as World Learning, an organisation that promotes international understanding by placing students with host families. His memberships included the Cosmos Club and the Council on Foreign Relations. Dr Olson published and co-wrote scholarly works, including The Theory and Practice of International Relations (1966).

"This book stands out because of its exceptional historical depth which perfectly shows how international relations are first a human adventure in which political actors, thinkers and societies participate while fluctuating between war, peace, power and social crisis. It is also an impressive and very pedagogic perspective on the literature, and particularly the English language IR theory. It is a tremendous narrative of our international past and present." – Bertrand Badie, Sciences-Po, France"Combining an overview of the history of the international system with evolving theoretical discourses in the discipline, Groom and Olson, with their new co-author, Barrinha, have produced what will likely be an invaluable teaching source for scholars in International Relations." – Vivienne Jabri, King's College London, UK"Anybody looking to find an introductory text to either learn about or teach the discipline of International Relations could start with this text. The authors have done an admirable job of surveying and synthesising a vast number of texts on the subject from the seventeenth century on, with some going back to even earlier epochs. They show that the international concerns of governments and thinkers alike have always had common roots and intertwining expression. Such a book could only have been written by longstanding and experienced teachers of the subject, in this case A.J.R. Groom and William Olsen, here ably aided by a young scholar, André Barrinha. It is particularly recommended for early years undergraduates but could also be read by any interested members of the general public. It is written with clarity and style, both traits often lacking in academic IR texts." – Andrew Williams, University of St. Andrews, UK

• Part 1: ‘Then’ – The formative Years 1.The antecedents 2.The ‘international’ idea and the reordering of Europe 3.Transforming the world: Marx, the peace movement and war 4. The period of the first consensus: a quest for peace 5. The impact of the collapse of the League system 6. The second consensus: the quest for power Part 2: Towards ‘now’ 7. A pause for reflection 8. Breaking the mould 9. Transnational, global and world society approaches 10. Structural approaches to international relations 11. Old Wine in New Bottles? Structure and change in International Relations 12. A new world order and the effects of globalisation 13. The construction of international reality 14. Beyond the status quo 15. Barricades and bridges: putting the ‘I’ into IR