Principles of International Politics

Click here to read the introduction.Click here to watch Bruce Bueno de Mesquita’s TED Talk about the future of Iran’s leadership and nuclear program!

A little revolution now and again is a good thing. The scientific approach to international relations has transformed the field. And now, thanks to a revolutionary revision, Principles of International Politics offers a crisp and clear introduction to international relations from the strategic point of view.

Responding to user feedback and classroom testing, Principles has been completely recast so that the book is focused squarely on the central insights of the strategic perspective. Honing in on two key ideas―winning coalitions and selectorate size―the book delivers the fundamental lessons of the theory more easily than ever, giving students even better access to the most powerful way of thinking about IR today.

Not only will students find the text easier to follow, they’ll also find the book shorter―almost half the length of the previous edition. Streamlining places the take-away points front and center, and the basic tools of the model are delivered in clear step-by-step language, allowing beginning students to grasp the theory’s powerful insights.

What hasn’t changed: Bueno de Mesquita’s commitment to covering the fundamentals of IR. You’ll find a full examination of security problems, with special attention to theories of war, an exploration of the democratic peace, the problems of terrorism, military intervention, the role of foreign aid, democratization, international political economy, globalization, international organizations, alliances, and international law.

Helpful pedagogical features allow students to master the principles, including:

• chapter-opener overviews,
• bolded key terms,
• "Try This" feature boxes,
• a full glossary, and
• appendixes (a survey of world history and a primer on the scientific method).