War and the State: The Theory of International Politics

by R. Harrison Wagner

War and the State exposes the invalid arguments employed in the unproductive debate about Realism among international relations scholars, as well as the common fallacy of sharply distinguishing between conflict among states and conflict within them. As R. Harrison Wagner demonstrates, any understanding of international politics must be part of a more general study of the relationship between political order and organized violence everywhere--as it was in the intellectual tradition from which modern-day Realism was derived. War and the State draws on the insights from Wagner's distinguished career to create an elegantly crafted essay accessible to both students and scholars.

"Possibly the most important book on international relations theory since Kenneth Waltz's Theory of International Politics."
---James Fearon, Stanford University

"This is one of the best books on international relations theory I have read in a very long time. It is required reading for any student of modern IR theory. Once again, Wagner has shown himself to be one of the clearest thinkers in the field today."
---Robert Powell, Robson Professor of Political Science, University of California, Berkeley

"Painting on a vast canvas, and tackling and integrating topics such as state formation, domestic politics, and international conflict, R. Harrison Wagner's War and the State offers many brilliant insights into the nature of international relations and international conflict. War and the State compellingly highlights the importance of constructing rigorous and valid theorizing and sets a high standard for all students of international relations. The field has much to gain if scholars follow the trail blazed by Wagner in this book."
---Hein Goemans, University of Rochester

R. Harrison Wagner is Professor of Government at the University of Texas.

Genres: International Relations, Political Science, Politics, International Affairs

272 pages, Paperback

First published August 31, 2007

Reviews

[Eleanore · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertainingly sardonic read for anyone who has had to suffer through Mearshimer, Morgenthau, Waltz or any of the other great "realists" of political theory. Wagner provides a valuable measure on the limit of scholarship in the field of international politics. He proposes new insights about the relationship between states and warfare, drawn from the context of game theory and bargaining theory that are interesting, if not always intuitive. It is worthy appreciation of the history and literature of international politics in the context of new challenges both to the state and the nature of conflict.

[Halvard Widerøe · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first chapters were great, they provide a well-written and amusing takedown of realism. The author practically ridicules canonical realist books like Waltz’ “Theory of International Politics” and Mearsheimer’s “The Tragedy of International Politics”.

The book turns into a drag when Wagner presents his view of international politics. I thought these chapters were boring. Wagner does a poor job in writing in a way that is easily understood, like most academics. He might be right, but it’s hard to fully grasp his theory of international politics.

[Santi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extremely uneven. Probably the best bit is the first chapter where Wagner thoroughly debunks Realism and exposes the intellectual fraud it is. The rest of the book is a collection of topics not so well meshed together. In any case, Wagner has a clarity of thinking that very few IR scholars enjoy, and the result is a good book.

[Petra · Rating 4 out of 5]

wagner is my new best friend, saving me when writing an essay. Nicely written too. Eternally thankful.

[Joseph Stieb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like most political science books, it should be an article (most political science articles, in turn, should really be like 2 pages long) There is, however, a generally interesting intervention here in IR theory. Rather than seeing the international system as defined by anarchy, he argues that we should see the state system as providing a structure that makes warfare a lot less likely. In a sense, this is true: the organization of human beings into large states that control (to varying extents) violence within and across borders helps create structure in international politics. There's also a cool point in here about competitive predation giving the prey some leverage on shaping the actions of the prey. I found Wagner to be an accessible writing but a little too dismissive of other big names in IR like John Mearsheimer and Kenneth Waltz. Sorry, but I don't think two pages of theory is enough to say these guys are completely wrong. Obviously this book is only for IR and political science people.

[Abhaya Kumar · Rating 1 out of 5]

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