Overview
- Presents the first volume on pessimism in IR and its contribution to international political thought
- Identifies the many species and manifestations of pessimism in contemporary politics
- Considers whether pessimism can operate as the foundation of positive thought and action
Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in International Relations (PSIR)
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About this book
This volume explores the past, present and future of pessimism in International Relations. It seeks to differentiate pessimism from cynicism and fatalism and assess its possibilities as a respectable perspective on national and international politics. The book traces the origins of pessimism in political thought from antiquity through to the present day, illuminating its role in key schools of International Relations and in the work of important international political theorists. The authors analyse the resurgence of pessimism in contemporary politics, such as in the new populism, attitudes to migration, indigenous politics, and the Anthropocene. This edited volume provides the first collection of scholarly work on pessimism in International Relations theory and practice and offers fresh perspectives on an intellectual position often considered as disreputable as it is venerable.
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Keywords
- international relations theory
- IR
- political theory
- IR history
- Cold War history
- John Herz
- anthropocene
- 21st century politics
- global politics
- US Alt-Right
- migration
- world politics
- productive pessimism
- Indigenous politics
- origins of pessimism in politics
- contemporary politics
- European politics
- North American politics
- thought politics
- international relations
Table of contents (12 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Histories of Pessimism
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Front Matter
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Pessimisms Today
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Editors and Affiliations
About the editors
Tim Stevens is Lecturer in the Department of War Studies, King’s College London, UK. He is the author of Cyber Security and the Politics of Time and co-author of Cyberspace and the State.
Nicholas Michelsen is Senior Lecturer in the Department of War Studies, King’s College London, UK. He is the author of Politics and Suicide: The Philosophy of Political Self-Destruction.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Pessimism in International Relations
Book Subtitle: Provocations, Possibilities, Politics
Editors: Tim Stevens, Nicholas Michelsen
Series Title: Palgrave Studies in International Relations
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21780-8
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Political Science and International Studies, Political Science and International Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-21779-2Published: 10 July 2019
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-21782-2Published: 14 August 2020
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-21780-8Published: 29 June 2019
Series ISSN: 2946-2673
Series E-ISSN: 2946-2681
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XI, 215
Number of Illustrations: 1 b/w illustrations
Topics: International Relations Theory, Political History, Cultural Policy and Politics, Political Theory, US Politics, European Politics