The Myth of 1648: Class, Geopolitics, and the Making of Modern International Relations - Hardcover

Benno Teschke

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1859846939 ISBN 13: 9781859846933

Publisher: Verso Books, 2003

Synopsis

TESCHKE, B. THE MYTH OF 1648. CLASS, GEOPOLITICS AND THE MAKING OF MODERN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS [HARDBACK]. LONDON, 2003, xii 308 p.,. Encuadernacion original. Nuevo.

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Review

"A seminal book which sets out to revolutionise the way we think about international relations ... an extraordinarily ambitious project carried through brilliantly to a triumphant success ... The book is destined to produce a new research programme in international theory." -- Peter Gowan "A truly first-rate piece of work ... he completely demolishes a reigning consensus." --Robert Brenner

Synopsis

The Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 is widely interpreted as the foundation of modern international relations. Benno Teschke exposes this as a myth. In the process he provides a fresh re-interpretation of the making of modern international relations from the eighth to the eighteenth century. Inspired by the groundbreaking historical work of Robert Brenner, Teschke argues that social property relations provide the key to unlocking the changing meaning of "international" across the medieval, early modern, and modern periods. He traces how the long-term interaction of class conflict, economic development, and international rivalry effected the formation of the modern system of states. Yet instead of identifying a breakthrough to interstate modernity in the so-called "long sixteenth century" or in the period of intensified geopolitical competition during the seventeenth century, Teschke shows that geopolitics remained governed by dynastic and absolutist political communities, rooted in feudal property regimes.

Edition details

• Publisher: Verso Books
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1859846939
• ISBN 13: 9781859846933
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352