Panaemonium: Ethnicity in International Politics

by Adam Roberts (Designer), Daniel Patrick Moynihan (Author), Daniel Patrick Moynihan (Author), Adam Roberts (Designer)

• Used

  Hardcover
  1993

  $3.57

  Responsible for the collapse of empires ranging from the Ottoman to the Soviet, self-determination has been one of the key factors in the history of the entire twentieth century. Surprisingly, scholars have been slow to appreciate the value of ethnicity as a way of understanding the key political developments of our times. In this challenging new book, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan draws on a rich and diverse fund of historical and contemporary examples to trace the history and illustrate the considerable predictive powers of ethnic studies. In particular, he shows how ethnicity confounded Marx's hopes for an international proletariat and reveals how an inability to grasp the importance of ethnic diversity left the West unprepared for the disintegration of the Communist bloc. About the author: Daniel Patrick Moynihan has been been the senior US Senator from New York since 1976 and is the only man in American history to have served in the cabinet or sub-cabinet of four successive presidents. He is also a highly distinguished academic, having taught at Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Syracuse, Cornell, and New York Universities and been lauded with an astonishing 55 honorary degrees.

• Used

  Paperback
  1994

  $3.32

  While comtemporary history has illustrated the extent to which ethnic tensions are a major source of violent conflict in the world today, scholars and informed observers have been slow to appreciate the value of ethnicity as a tool in understanding the key political developments of recent years. In this book Daniel Patrick Moynihan considers the concept of the self-determination of peoples and discusses major contributions to the subject from Marx, through Wilson and Lenin, to the UN charter. In a critically executed study, he draws upon a rich and diverse fund of historical and contemporary examples to trace the history and illustrate the considerable predictive powers of ethnic studies. He refutes both the liberal melting pot theory and the Marxist prediciton that ethnic differences would give way to an international proletariat. He explores in particular the role played by ethnic diversity in the collapse of the Soviet Union, and argues that the West's inability to grasp the importance of ethnicity was responsible for its failure to anticipate one of the most important events of the 20th century. This study illustrates how an understanding of the concept of ethnicity is critical to our comprehension of the causes of many contemporary conflicts and to our understanding of international politics.