The Concept of the State in International Relations: Philosophy, Sovereignty and Cosmopolitanism
ISBN: 9781474408721
Platform/Publisher: Oxford Academic / Edinburgh University Press
Digital rights: Users: Unlimited; Printing: Unlimited; Download: Unlimited
Subjects: International Relations;

A critical reassessment of the concepts of the state and sovereignty in international relations theory

The concept of the state plays a central role in international relations, particularly in realist and neo-realist approaches. Yet, the meaning of the state is persistently taken to be self-evident by both advocates of the sovereign state and its critics. This volume counters this trend. It systematically considers the nature of the state, the concept of sovereignty and the challenges globalisation and cosmopolitanism.

Featuring contributions from some of the most reputed theorists of the state, the essays in this collection give you a coherent and, at the same time, distinctively pluralist set of original reflections on the role and nature of the state.


Robert Schuett has a Ph.D. from the School of Government and International Affairs at Durham University, UK. His research interests are primarily based in political theory of international relations and security/strategic studies. He joined the Austrian Federal Civil Service in 2011.

Peter M. R. Stirk is a Senior Lecturer in Politics at Durham University. His publications include The Politics of Military Occupation (Edinburgh University Press, 2009) and Twentieth-Century German Political Thought (Edinburgh University Press, 2006).

hidden image for function call