The Cultural Construction of International Relations

by Beate Jahn

"Realist and liberal writers alike see cultural diversity as the defining feature of world politics but refuse to address this problem in their theories. By attempting to solve the problem of cultural diversity through the use of the concept of the state of nature, they ignore the fact that this concept itself is a particular cultural product. This book uncovers the history of this idea, revealing its origins in the European conquest of America, its crucial role in the emergence of the Enlightenment world view, and its continuing negative consequences for our attempts to understand world politics. It provides an original rereading of political theory, domestic and international, by combining it with a historical narrative of the interaction between European and non-European peoples."--Jacket.