Theories of International Cooperation and the Primacy of Anarchy

Jennifer Sterling-Folker is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Connecticut.

"We can no longer look upon either liberal cooperation or realism in quite the same way after this book. The exegesis on both of these theories is penetrating, insightful, and imaginative, while the empirical testing is appropriate and quite conclusive. Anyone who wishes to enter into the theoretical conversation in contemporary international relations must read this book." — Donald J. Puchala, University of South Carolina"Sterling-Folker offers a simply breathtaking account of the flaws inherent in liberal international theory, and how realism is superior as a theory of cooperation. This book will become a major focal point in contemporary scholarly debate about the political consequences of international economic interdependence, and it may play a role in United States policy debate concerning countries such as China as well." — Joseph M. Grieco, Duke University

• Preface and Acknowledgments Glossary of Abbreviations 1. Explaining International Cooperation The "New" International OrganizationPrior Periods of Liberal CogencyContructivism in an Era of Liberal CogencyA Second Look at Interdependence and Regimes as Explanations for CooperationA Realist-Constructivist AlternativeOverview for the Book 2. Liberal Cooperation Theory Defining InterdependenceAutonomy and Sovereignty in InterdependenceInterdependence and Cooperation According to Issue AreasComplex Interdependence: Issue Areas of Mutual Gain in Conditions of InterdependenceDomestic Structual and Cognitive Barriers to CooperationChanging Cognitive Maps: Learning, Information, Linkages, and RegimesInterdependence as Process and By Way of Conclusion 3. A Realist-Constructivist Alternative The "Conventional Wisdom"Revisiting the Concept of AnarchyHuman Social Practice in an Anarchic EnvironmentThe Foundation for a Neoclassical Realist Approach to Autonomy and CooperationAutonomy as a Social PracticeThe Realist-Constructivist Approach to International Cooperation 4. Empirical Propositions and the Bretton Woods Monetary Regime Monetary Elite Networks and Opportunities in the American ContextOperationalizing Liberal Expectations: A First CutPost-Bretton Woods as Regime Creation and Policy OptimizingDefining Functional Institutional Efficiency in International Monetary AffairsPost-Bretton Woods as Regimes Maintenance and Satisficing StabilizationOperationalizing Realist-Constructivist ExpectationsResearch Design Summary 5. U.S. International Monetary Cooperation, 1971-1993 "The Dollar May be Our Currency But It's Your Problem""In a Boat With an Elephant""The Magic of the Marketplace""Cowboys at the Hotel""Remember, It Was Only Dinner Conversation""Once in a While I Think about those Things, But Not Much" 6. Why Liberal Theories Fail to Account for the Empirical Record Revelations from the Empirical RecordEconomic Policymakers in HistoryThe Shift From Regime Creation to Regime MaintenanceInterdependent Demand and Functionally Efficient Supply 7. Explaining U.S. International Monetary Cooperation with Realist-Constructivism Returning to the HotelWhy Toast the God of CooperationPost-Plaza Polite "Dinner Conversation"Directions for Future ResearchCooperation and the Possbility of Fundamental Systemic Change Notes Bibliography Index