Abstract
This chapter focusses upon change as a major source of insight into the dynamics of the human condition. The immediate concern is with the sources and patterns of change in the sub-set of the general wider domain of human ethical principles and practices associated with a system of nominally sovereign states. The difficulty of analysing change will be identified through a discussion of the conflicting claims of structural and voluntaristic perspectives and the problems affecting their possible resolution through structuration theory.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Notes and References
K. Waltz, Theory of International Politics (Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1979).
On the concept of ‘meta-theory’ see F. G. Castles, Politics and Social Insight (London: Routledge, 1971).
See the contributions to M. Gibbons (ed.), Interpreting Politics (Oxford: Blackwell, 1987).
For an effective discussion of this point see M. Hollis and S. Smith, ‘Two Stories About Structure and Agency’, Review of International Studies, 20 (1994) 241–52.
G. V. Plekhanov, The Role of the Individual in History (New York: International Publishers, 1940).
R. O. Keohane, ‘International Institutions: Two Approaches’, International Organization, 38 (1988) 379–96.
See M. Hollis and S. Smith, Explaining and Understanding International Relations (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990).
M. S. Archer, Culture and Agency: The Place of Culture in Social Theory (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988), especially the Preface and Chapters 1 and 9.
See E. Luard, History of the United Nations, Volume 1, The Years of Western Domination (London: Macmillan, 1982).
For a full account of this perspective see S. Gill and D. Law, The Global Political Economy: Perspectives, Problems and Policies (Brighton: Wheatsheaf, 1988), especially Chapters 5, 6 and 7.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 1996 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Jones, R.J.B. (1996). Construction and Constraint in the Promotion of Change in the Principles of International Conduct. In: Holden, B. (eds) The Ethical Dimensions of Global Change. University of Reading European and International Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-24538-3_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-24538-3_3
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-24540-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-24538-3
eBook Packages: Palgrave Political & Intern. Studies CollectionPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)