The empire of civil society
a critique of the realist theory of international relations
- ISBN: 9781804295977
- Editorial: Verso Books
- Fecha de la edición: 2025
- Lugar de la edición: London. Reino Unido
- Encuadernación: Rústica
- Medidas: 22 cm
- Nº Pág.: 256
- Idiomas: Inglés
The Empire of Civil Society rejects outright the goal of theorising 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 his historical-materialist analysis is a surer guide to understanding geopolitical systems than the supposedly timeless verities of realism.
Rosenberg demonstrates that the distinctive properties of the sovereign-state system are best understood as corresponding to the framework of capitalist society. In this light, realism emerges as incapable of explaining what it has always insisted is the central feature of the interstate order - the balance of power.
Winner of the 1994 Deutscher Memorial Prize
1. The Trouble with Realism. Descriptive Realism: E.H. Carr and the State's-Eye View. Axiomatic Realism: Morgenthau's Laws of Politics. Waltz's Theoretical Realism: Accidents Will Happen. Realism as Ideology. Conclusions: What's Missing?
2. Social Structures and Geopolitical Systems. Utrecht, 1713. Wight and the Limits of Realist History. Social Theory and Social Structure. Social Structures and Geopolitical Systems
3. Secret Origins of the State. The Historical Legitimation of Realism. Renaissance Italy. Classical Greece. The Structural Basis of Raison d'Etat. Implications for Contemporary IR Theory
4. Trade and Expansion in Early Modern Europe. India Portuguesa. New Spain
5. The Empire of Civil Society. The Structural Basis of Civil Society. Sovereignty as a Capitalist Political Form. The Sovereign States-System. The Question of Absolutist Sovereignty. Historicizing the Balance of Power. Karl Marx's Theory of Anarchy
