International institutions and power politics : bridging the divide / Anders Wivel and T.V. Paul, editors. (Text)

Includes bibliographical references (p. 215-253) and index.

Introduction -- Exploring international institutions and power politics / Anders Wivel and T.V. Paul -- Theorizing power politics and international institutions -- Realist institutionalism and the institutional mechanisms of power politics / J. Samuel Barkin and Patricia A. Weitsman -- A neoclassical realist explanation of international institutions / Norrin M. Ripsman -- Pyrrhic victory : a world of liberal institutions, teeming with tensions / Georg Sørensen -- Making power politics great again? Discursive institutionalism and the political economy of world politics after globalization / Ben Rosamond -- The processes of power politics and international institutions -- Maximizing security through international institutions : soft-balancing strategies reconsidered / Anders Wivel and T.V. Paul -- The power in opacity : rethinking information in international organizations / Austin Carson and Alexander Thompson -- Revisionists, networks, and the liberal institutional order / Stacie Goddard -- The power politics of global and regional institutions -- Structural modifiers, the non-proliferation treaty regime, and fostering a less competitive international environment / Steven E. Lobell and Brad Nicholson -- The power politics of United Nations peace operations / Sarah-Myriam Martin Brûlé, Lou Pingeot, and Vincent Pouliot -- Variable geometry : power and institutions in the European Union / John A. Hall and Frédéric Mérand -- Conclusions -- The dynamic relations between power politics and institutionalization : a neo-Gramscian intervention / Annette Freyberg-Inan -- International order and power politics / Daniel H. Nexon.

This book moves scholarly debates beyond the old question of whether or not international institutions matter in order to examine how they matter, even in a world of power politics. Power politics and international institutions are often studied as two separate domains, but this is in need of rethinking because today most states strategically use institutions to further their interests. Anders Wivel, T.V. Paul, and the international group of contributing authors update our understanding of how institutions are viewed among the major theoretical paradigms in international relations, and they seek to bridge the divides. Empirical chapters examine specific institutions in practice, including the United Nations, International Atomic Energy Agency, and the European Union. The book also points the way to future research. International Institutions and Power Politics provides insights for both international relations theory and practical matters of foreign affairs, and it will be essential reading for all international relations scholars and advanced students.