Quantum International Relations

The contributors to this volume are motivated by a common apprehension and a common hope. The apprehension was first voiced by Einstein, who lamented the inability of humanity, at the individual and social level, to keep up with the increased speed of technological change brought about by the quantum revolution. As quantum science and technology fast forward into the 21st century, the social sciences remain stuck in classical, 19th century ways of thinking. Cansuch a mechanistic model of the mind and society possibly help us manage the fully realized technological potential of the quantum? That's where the hope appears: that perhaps quantum is not just aphysical science, but a human science too. In Quantum International Relations, James Der Derian and Alexander Wendt gather rising scholars and leading experts to make the case for quantum approaches to world politics. As a fundamental theory of reality and enabler of new technologies, quantum now touches everything, with the potential to revolutionize how we conduct diplomacy, wage war, and make wealth. Contributors present the core principles of quantummechanics--entanglement, uncertainty, superposition, and the wave function--as significant catalysts and superior heuristics for an accelerating quantum future. Facing a reality which no longer corresponds to anoutdated Newtonian worldview of states as billiard balls, individuals as rational actors or power as objective interest, Der Derian and Wendt issue an urgent call for a new human science of quantum International Relations.At the centenary of the first quantum thought experiment in the 1920s, this book offers a diversity of explorations, speculations and approaches for understanding geopolitics in the 21st century.

“"Breaking new ground boldly, this book aims at creating a human science of IR by looking to quantum physics for inspiration and insight. The two undisputed leaders in this burgeoning IR field, James Der Derian and Alexander Wendt, have assembled uniformly outstanding chapters. If you worry that IR has too little to say about the spreading virus within us and the warming planet around us, and a host of other pressing issues, you can learn enormously from this collection-and then you should teach it to your undergraduate and graduate students!" -- Peter J. Katzenstein, Walter S. Carpenter, Jr. Professor of International Studies, Cornell University and editor of Uncertainty and its Discontents: Worldviews in World Politics "While world politics is increasingly characterized by networked simultaneity, AI-generated synthetic media, and endlessly multiplying meta-verses, the formal study of the field is still flash frozen in a classical Newtonian worldview. This carefully curated edited collection provides an extremely thorough and highly provocative introduction to the many ways in which quantum theory can better inform our understanding of international relations. There is currently no other source that covers so well the history, scientific principles, and the promises and perils of quantum physics as they relate to the study of world politics." -- Ron Deibert, Director of the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto and author of Reset: Reclaiming the Internet for Civil Society "This provocative and ground-breaking collection will make you question the classical understandings of international relations and discover new entanglements. It's a thrilling glimpse into how the quantum paradigm might transform the foundations of the social sciences as much as it has for physics, chemistry, and computer science." -- Kate Crawford, Research Professor at USC Annenberg, and author of Atlas of AI "There has come a need for a newly engaged examination of what the whole realm of quantum thought means, and how new developments in quantum technology might change us in profound ways. The new explorations collected here perform that function admirably; as far as I know, there is no other collection like it, and it is sorely needed." -- Kim Stanley Robinson, author of The Ministry for the Future”

Breaking new ground boldly, this book aims at creating a human science of IR by looking to quantum physics for inspiration and insight. The two undisputed leaders in this burgeoning IR field, James Der Derian and Alexander Wendt, have assembled uniformly outstanding chapters. If you worry that IR has too little to say about the spreading virus within us and the warming planet around us, and a host of other pressing issues, you can learn enormously from this collection-and then you should teach it to your undergraduate and graduate students! Peter J. Katzenstein, Walter S. Carpenter, Jr. Professor of International Studies, Cornell University and editor of Uncertainty and its Discontents: Worldviews in World Politics
While world politics is increasingly characterized by networked simultaneity, AI-generated synthetic media, and endlessly multiplying meta-verses, the formal study of the field is still flash frozen in a classical Newtonian worldview. This carefully curated edited collection provides an extremely thorough and highly provocative introduction to the many ways in which quantum theory can better inform our understanding of international relations. There is currently no other source that covers so well the history, scientific principles, and the promises and perils of quantum physics as they relate to the study of world politics. Ron Deibert, Director of the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto and author of Reset: Reclaiming the Internet for Civil Society
This provocative and ground-breaking collection will make you question the classical understandings of international relations and discover new entanglements. It's a thrilling glimpse into how the quantum paradigm might transform the foundations of the social sciences as much as it has for physics, chemistry, and computer science. Kate Crawford, Research Professor at USC Annenberg, and author of Atlas of AI
There has come a need for a newly engaged examination of what the whole realm of quantum thought means, and how new developments in quantum technology might change us in profound ways. The new explorations collected here perform that function admirably; as far as I know, there is no other collection like it, and it is sorely needed. Kim Stanley Robinson, author of The Ministry for the Future
Rich edited volume...improving our understanding of how individual actions transform the social phenomena is a worthy and timely academic pursuit. As such, the book offers unique insights that will inspire critically oriented scholars. Jakub Tesa%r, International Affairs

James Der Derian is a Professor of International Security at the University of Sydney. HIs research and teaching interests are in international security, information technology, international theory, and documentary film.Alexander Wendt is a Professor of Political Science at Ohio State University. He is interested in philosophical aspects of social science, with special reference to international relations.

The contributors to this volume are motivated by a common apprehension and a common hope. The apprehension was first voiced by Einstein, who lamented the inability of humanity, at the individual and social level, to keep up with the increased speed of technological change brought about by the quantum revolution. As quantum science and technology fast forward into the 21st century, the social sciences remain stuck in classical, 19th century ways of thinking. Cansuch a mechanistic model of the mind and society possibly help us manage the fully realized technological potential of the quantum? That's where the hope appears: that perhaps quantum is not just aphysical science, but a human science too. In Quantum International Relations, James Der Derian and Alexander Wendt gather rising scholars and leading experts to make the case for quantum approaches to world politics. As a fundamental theory of reality and enabler of new technologies, quantum now touches everything, with the potential to revolutionize how we conduct diplomacy, wage war, and make wealth. Contributors present the core principles of quantummechanics--entanglement, uncertainty, superposition, and the wave function--as significant catalysts and superior heuristics for an accelerating quantum future. Facing a reality which no longer corresponds to anoutdated Newtonian worldview of states as billiard balls, individuals as rational actors or power as objective interest, Der Derian and Wendt issue an urgent call for a new human science of quantum International Relations.At the centenary of the first quantum thought experiment in the 1920s, this book offers a diversity of explorations, speculations and approaches for understanding geopolitics in the 21st century.

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