{"product_id":"9781804295977","title":"The Empire of Civil Society: A Critique of the Realist Theory of International Relations","description":"Author: Rosenberg, Justin\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9781804295977\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Bloomsbury\u003cbr\u003eYear first published: 25 Feb 2025\u003cbr\u003ePages: 256 Format: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOpening with an interrogation of a number of classic realist works, the book rejects outright the goal of theorizing geopolitical systems in isolation from wider social structures. In a series of case studies   including Classical Greece, Renaissance Italy and the Portuguese and Spanish empires   Justin Rosenberg shows how the historical-materialist analysis of societies is a surer guide to understanding geopolitical systems than the technical theories of realist international relations. In each case, he draws attention to the correspondence between the form of the geopolitical system and the character of the societies composing it.\u003cbr\u003eIn the final section of the book, the tools forged in these explorations are employed to analyze the contemporary international system, with striking results. Rosenberg demonstrates that the distinctive properties of the sovereign-states system are best understood as corresponding to the social structures of capitalist society. In this light, realism emerges as incapable of explaining what it has always insisted is the central feature of the international system   namely, the balance of power. On the other hand, it is argued that Marx's social theory of value, conventionally regarded as an account of hierarchical class domination, provides the deepest understanding of the core international relations theme of \"anarchy.\"\u003cbr\u003eProvocative and unconventional, \u003ci\u003eThe Empire of Civil Society\u003c\/i\u003e brilliantly turns orthodox international relations on its head.","brand":"Ships in 10 to 15 days","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46643240304798,"sku":"UBD-9781804295977","price":34.78,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0400\/9043\/5742\/files\/9781804295977.jpg?v=1774485136","url":"https:\/\/classicbargains.com.au\/products\/9781804295977","provider":"Classic Bargains Australia","version":"1.0","type":"link"}