This chapter discusses the key concepts of realism in International Relations (IR) and relates this to foreign policy. It explains that realism continues to be a relevant theoretical perspective on foreign policy which informs a rich array of Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA) scholarship. Realism offers an outside-in perspective that focuses on the relative power position of states in the international system to explain foreign policy. The chapter then focuses on the neorealist model to explain foreign policy before introducing its modifications: post-classical realism and neoclassical realism. It mentions how realist FPA lacks diversity as the field continues to be dominated by male, Western authors.
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2. Realism
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5. Affirmative Action and Discrimination
William Abel, Elizabeth Kahn, Tom Parr, and Andrew Walton
This chapter argues that affirmative action is sometimes justifiable. ‘Affirmative action’ refers to policies beyond anti-discrimination law that directly regulate selection procedures to enhance the representation of members of various socially salient groups, such as those based on gender, race, and ethnicity. The chapter outlines an argument in support of affirmative action by distinguishing three prominent forms of wrongful discrimination and by showing that affirmative action is the appropriate response to the past and present wrongful discrimination suffered by members of socially salient groups. It also adds a second argument for affirmative action that appeals to the importance of enhancing diversity and social integration. The chapter then tackles several objections and reflects on the implications of these arguments for the design of affirmative action policies.
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1. Introduction
Nicola Phillips
This introductory chapter provides an overview of the ‘what, where, and who’ of Global Political Economy (GPE). GPE is a contemporary field of study which first took shape in the 1960s and 1970s under the label ‘International Political Economy’ (IPE). At its core, GPE is the study of the forms of power—economic, political, material, and social—which shape how the world operates. Despite their names, IPE and GPE have both been criticized for their lack of a ‘global’ viewpoint. This book aims to make a real contribution to the project of GPE as a genuinely ‘global’ field of study. GPE is—and needs to be—a genuinely interdisciplinary field, reflecting the best of the spirit of political economy. The chapter then highlights the value of diversity in the academic field of GPE. It explores how this book is organized and what it offers as a resource.
