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weeties's review
4.0
this book is written from a realist perspective. Although it's a school of thought that I don't normally agree with, I did find that the author had some interesting insights about the topic of politics. I did enjoy the three themes he chose and I also enjoyed the way he broke these themes down own. Rather than trying to give readers a total overview of the field of politics, I enjoyed the more pared back approach, for a change.
asreadbycatarina's review
5.0
2020 Reading #0 (1/3) | Pre-Quarantine
(The one where Catarina finally finished this book.)
Since I started my bachelor’s degree in International Relations, I told myself I should invest more into reading about the field beyond my classes’ mandatory readings. Years went by and this idea stopped being a priority — as I had always resorted to reading as a way of relaxing, an escape from school and other obligations. However, last summer, I promised myself it would finally change. Political Science then became my preferred first topic... And what a great first topic (and book)!
If you are looking into understanding how the world of politics works (a very dense topic!), [a:David Runciman|377066|David Runciman|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1458659076p2/377066.jpg] makes a brilliantly succinct summary. He sets out this book to show the limitations, powers and interconnectivity of modern global political systems. To serve the book’s purpose, it kicks off with the comparison between Denmark and Syria, two notably different countries (but that could have had completely different destinies too); and divides politics into three sectors — Violence (control of), Technology (influence of) and Justice (inequality in the application of). Furthermore, he investigates the historic basis of politics and democratic regimes; the importance of politicians (versus technocrats); the influence of globalization and inequality in the political discourse (and vice-versa).
Many essential political philosophers ([a:Thomas Hobbes|10122|Thomas Hobbes|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1267037419p2/10122.jpg], [a:Niccolò Machiavelli|16201|Niccolò Machiavelli|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1508764329p2/16201.jpg], [a:Max Weber|42041|Max Weber|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1215400097p2/42041.jpg], etc.) are also explicitly mentioned, giving the readers (even those who are completely oblivious to the world of politics) the materials to do their own research. It was then an excellent, interactive introduction to (international) politics — and, in a perfect world, I would have given a 4,5 stars rating to this book, due to theloooooooooong time it took me to finish. It was so heavily condensed that I had to put it down more times than I would like to admit. Nevertheless, it is a great book for those starting to dwell into this topic.
BONUS: I also vividly recommend Runciman’s podcast Talking Politics for an updated sum-up of global politics!
(The one where Catarina finally finished this book.)
Since I started my bachelor’s degree in International Relations, I told myself I should invest more into reading about the field beyond my classes’ mandatory readings. Years went by and this idea stopped being a priority — as I had always resorted to reading as a way of relaxing, an escape from school and other obligations. However, last summer, I promised myself it would finally change. Political Science then became my preferred first topic... And what a great first topic (and book)!
If you are looking into understanding how the world of politics works (a very dense topic!), [a:David Runciman|377066|David Runciman|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1458659076p2/377066.jpg] makes a brilliantly succinct summary. He sets out this book to show the limitations, powers and interconnectivity of modern global political systems. To serve the book’s purpose, it kicks off with the comparison between Denmark and Syria, two notably different countries (but that could have had completely different destinies too); and divides politics into three sectors — Violence (control of), Technology (influence of) and Justice (inequality in the application of). Furthermore, he investigates the historic basis of politics and democratic regimes; the importance of politicians (versus technocrats); the influence of globalization and inequality in the political discourse (and vice-versa).
Many essential political philosophers ([a:Thomas Hobbes|10122|Thomas Hobbes|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1267037419p2/10122.jpg], [a:Niccolò Machiavelli|16201|Niccolò Machiavelli|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1508764329p2/16201.jpg], [a:Max Weber|42041|Max Weber|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1215400097p2/42041.jpg], etc.) are also explicitly mentioned, giving the readers (even those who are completely oblivious to the world of politics) the materials to do their own research. It was then an excellent, interactive introduction to (international) politics — and, in a perfect world, I would have given a 4,5 stars rating to this book, due to the
BONUS: I also vividly recommend Runciman’s podcast Talking Politics for an updated sum-up of global politics!
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