Studies in International Relations: Essays by Philip Windsor

Philip Windsor (1935-2000) is widely acknowledged to have been among the very brightest and most penetrating of thinkers in International Relations. This book brings together some of his most exciting and intellectually stimulating essays, written over a period of 25 years and covering many of the classic and most enduring issues in the study of International Relations: the causes of wars; intervention and the use of force; the regulation of conflict; human rights and the tensions between the demands of order and justice in international affairs. Although Windsor covered a remarkably wide range of subjects, he was always concerned with the deeper issues and questions raised by the study and practice of international politics. This philosophical bias, together with his distinctive style, elegant prose and sheer breadth of knowledge, gave an underlying coherence and unity to all his writings. The essays are divided into three broad themes: Part I, International Relations in a Philosophical Context, examines the philosophical issues raised by a discipline that, in Windsor's words, "is bound to be comprehensive by virtue of its preoccupation, but cannot be unitary because of its preoccupations". Part II, War and Strategy, includes brilliant essays on East-West relations during the Cold War, arms control, NATO and Clausewitz's contribution to strategic thought. Part III, Aspects of International Order, covers a wider range of themes from a critical assessment of Henry Kissinger's scholarly contribution to the place of human rights and cultural dialogue in international politics.