Practical Judgement in International Political Theory

Chris Brown is Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science and a former Chair of the British International Studies Association. He is the author of Understanding International Relations (4th ed. 2009, with Kirsten Ainley), Sovereignty, Rights and Justice (2002), International Relations Theory: New Normative Approaches (1992), editor of Political Restructuring in Europe: Ethical Perspectives (1994) and co-editor of International Relations in Political Thought: Texts from the Ancient Greeks to the First World War (2002).

'Chris Brown is what many scholars wish to be - a writer whose lucid expositions never fail to engage, challenge, and enlighten. For thoughtful students of international affairs, these essays are an education in the subject at its self-reflective best.' - Terry Nardin, National University of Singapore'I urge every student of international relations and political thought to read this book. You will find yourself on an amazing journey through the essential currents of contemporary intellectual history. Chris Brown is an incomparable guide. He shows us his subject in all of its magnificent scope. His clarity, discernment and charming wit carry you lightly through even the heaviest of arguments. It is a rare collection of essays that can re-cast an entire genre of literature. This volume does so. Like all great essayists, Chris Brown gives us ideas, characters and stories that delight and instruct.' - Joel H. Rosenthal, President, Carnegie Council for Ethics in International AffairsThis is an invaluable volume. Each essay is immensely insightful, unfailingly engaging, and boldly provocative. Moreover, the collection as a whole maps the evolution in thinking of an eminently important scholar who has done no less than pioneer the field of study variously known as a ‘international political theory’, ‘normative international relations (IR) theory’ and ‘international ethics.’ - Toni Erskine, Aberystwyth University

• 1. Introduction: A Life in Theory Part 1: Communitarians and Cosmopolitans 2. The Modern Requirement: Reflections on Normative Theory in a Post-Western World 3. Ethics of Co-Existence: The International Theory of Terry Nardin 4. International Theory and International Society: The Viability of the Middle Way 5. Universal Human Rights: A Critique 6. Towards a Neo-Aristotelian Resolution of the Communitarian Cosmopolitan Debate 7. Cultural Diversity and International Political Theory 8. The Construction of a Realistic Utopia: John Rawls and International Political Theory Part 2: The Discourse of International Relations 9. Not my Department? Normative Theory and International Relations 10. Hegel and International Ethics 11. Turtles All the Way Down: Antifoundationalism, Critical theory and International Relations 12. Liberalism and the Globalisation of Ethics 13. Tragedy, Tragic Choices and International Political Theory Part 3: The Exercise of Judgement 14. Cosmopolitanism, World Citizenship and Global Civil Society 15. On Morality, Self-Interest and Foreign Policy 16. Selective Humanitarianism: In Defence of Inconsistency 17. Practical Judgement and the Ethics of Pre-emption 18. Bob Dylan, Live Aid, and the Politics of Popular Cosmopolitanism