Rules of the Game

Anyone interested in the forces behind globalization, terrorism, job outsourcing, or the price of gas needs at least a fundamental understanding of international relations. Using the relevant and accessible metaphor of a game, The Rules of the Game provides an introductory explanation of international relations. The book is broken into three inviting parts. First, it examines the basics of the international relations game by explaining the nature of the game, its players, its goals, and its strategies. Then, the book looks at the rules of the game from the perspectives of politics, economics, law, and morality. The book ends with a pertinent discussion of the future of the international relations game in the context of globalization. Intended for general readers, this book provides a succinct, jargon-free framework for understanding contemporary international relations

“"Mark Amstutz has found an insightful and creative way to introduce students to the study of international relations. His game metaphor simplifies a confusing world without being simplistic. This is a nuanced and textured book that takes us right to the heart of international society."Brent F. Nelsen, Furman University"As a teaching text, this book possesses the important (and rare) virtues of clarity, comprehensiveness, and readability. The author has performed a major feat in abstracting and listing so clearly the principles and rules by which the international system operates--without pushing an agenda that either endorses the status quo or is in any way utopian. This book covers the basics and frees up the instructor to enhance the course with additional readings--important for academics who are all jealous of class time!"Stephen Wrage, U.S. Naval Academy"With brilliant creativity, Mark Amstutz uses the metaphor of a game to illustrate the whole range of ways that rules structure international relations--even when competition between states and other armed actors is at its deadliest. The game image, along with Amstutz's stress on the moral dimension of statecraft, combine to offer students a uniquely effective tool for understanding international relations in all of its complexity."Daniel Philpott, University of Notre Dame"Mark Amstutz, one of the United States' most respected scholars and teachers of world affairs, has written a book, Rules of the Game, that uses games as a metaphor for analyzing and thinking about contemporary issues of international relations. He employs an approach that is based on realism but consistently informed by ethical concerns. This is a book that both students and interested citizens will profit from reading and is highly recommended."Dan Caldwell, Pepperdine University"Profesor Amstutz has found a clever way to introduce students to the complexities of international relations, using a metaphor that resonates with the most sophisticated practitioners of international statecraft, with the greenest of new scholars, and with everyone in between."Peter Feaver, Duke University”

“Mark Amstutz has found an insightful and creative way to introduce students to the study of international relations. His game metaphor simplifies a confusing world without being simplistic. This is a nuanced and textured book that takes us right to the heart of international society.”Brent F. Nelsen, Furman University“As a teaching text, this book possesses the important (and rare) virtues of clarity, comprehensiveness, and readability. The author has performed a major feat in abstracting and listing so clearly the principles and rules by which the international system operates—without pushing an agenda that either endorses the status quo or is in any way utopian. This book covers the basics and frees up the instructor to enhance the course with additional readings—important for academics who are all jealous of class time!”Stephen Wrage, U.S. Naval Academy“With brilliant creativity, Mark Amstutz uses the metaphor of a game to illustrate the whole range of ways that rules structure international relations—even when competition between states and other armed actors is at its deadliest. The game image, along with Amstutz’s stress on the moral dimension of statecraft, combine to offer students a uniquely effective tool for understanding international relations in all of its complexity.”Daniel Philpott, University of Notre Dame“Mark Amstutz, one of the United States' most respected scholars and teachers of world affairs, has written a book, Rules of the Game, that uses games as a metaphor for analyzing and thinking about contemporary issues of international relations. He employs an approach that is based on realism but consistently informed by ethical concerns. This is a book that both students and interested citizens will profit from reading and is highly recommended.”Dan Caldwell, Pepperdine University"Profesor Amstutz has found a clever way to introduce students to the complexities of international relations, using a metaphor that resonates with the most sophisticated practitioners of international statecraft, with the greenest of new scholars, and with everyone in between."Peter Feaver, Duke University

Mark R. Amstutz is Professor of Political Science at Wheaton College, where he teaches courses in international relations, U.S. foreign policy, international ethics, and Third World politics. He is the author of numerous articles and books including most recently a new edition of International Ethics: Concepts, Theories, and Cases in Global Politics (Rowman & Littlefield 2005). In addition to chairing the politics department at Wheaton College for nearly two decades, he has directed off-campus study programs in Europe and Cuba and traveled widely as a scholar. In 1988 he was honored with a "senior teacher" award and in 2005 he was recognized with a "senior scholarship" award.

This introductory text presents an overview of fundamental concepts and principles of international relations (IR) using a game metaphor. The use of the game metaphor as an organizing principle allows the author to present the inner logic of IR in a succinct, coherent, and dynamic manner. The first part of the primer focuses on the nature of the international community and how the IR game is played. In this section, the author examines the nature of the IR game, the actors eligible to play the game, and the goals and strategies for playing the game. In presenting the basic architecture of global politics, the book illuminates key elements of the traditional Westphalian system and then highlights important changes currently under way in the emerging postmodern international system. The second part of the primer shows four types of ?rules of the game? in action'political, economic, legal, and moral. Although IR has often been defined in terms of power politics alone, all four types of rules play an important role in structuring the international behavior of states and other actors. The text concludes by examining developments that are likely to influence the future IR game. Beginning students and laypersons with an interest in global affairs will find this innovative and clearly written guide a useful conceptual roadmap to the field of IR.

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