Tsygankov's “Theory of International Relations” is a landmark scientific work in its field. What are the features of this manual, and what is its uniqueness and significance for the academic community? These and some other questions will be disclosed in this article.
Lack of specialized literature
Under the title "Theory of International Relations" two books were published that complement each other - a textbook and an anthology. Both of these works have similar sections. Therefore, students studying the theory of international relations on them, do not need to spend too much time searching for materials in various sources.
Despite the fact that in our country for a long time there have been numerous institutions that train specialists in the field of international relations, the shortage of benefits for students of these universities today is felt quite strongly. Why is there so few textbooks in Russia as Tsygankov's Theory of International Relations?
The fact is that, despite the long history of teaching this subject, very few textbooks and anthologies have been published at present, which discuss the works of the most significant researchers working in this field.
Studying international relations in the Soviet Union
In the USSR, for several decades, there were such institutes as MGIMO, the Institute of Friendship of Peoples, and Moscow State University and some other educational institutions also trained specialists in this field. Nevertheless, the theory of international relations was taught in that era rather one-sidedly. Political, social, cultural and other aspects of the issue remained, as a rule, out of the spotlight. International relations were considered only from a historical point of view.
Bourgeois literature
Also in Soviet times, almost no such anthologies were published in which the most important works of international scholars, such as Tsygankov's Theory of International Relations, were presented. The peculiarity of this book is that in it, unlike other similar manuals of past years, many works of scientists that were previously considered to be "bourgeois" were published. That is, their creators either adhered to political views, which the leadership recognized as foreign to our people, or directly or veiledly criticized the actions of the government of the Soviet Union. The publication of such works became possible only in the nineties of the twentieth century, after the completion of perestroika.
Until that time, many books of leading experts in international relations were not only not translated into Russian, but were inaccessible even to the original visitors of the country's largest libraries.
Broadening the horizons
It is known that in the theory of international relations there are several areas or schools whose teachings sometimes radically differ from each other. You can name as an example such ones as realism, neorealism, idealism, transnationalism and so on. In the Soviet period of the development of Russian science of relations between peoples and states, realism was considered the main and only correct course. This direction is based in its research mainly on historical data on such global processes as wars, political crises, revolutions and so on.
Speaking about theories of the directions of international relations, Tsygankov considers not only the works of representatives of this trend, but also the works of scientists who are adherents of other large schools. Such a review of a variety of literature on this issue enriches the horizons of students, allows them to look at the current international situation from various points of view.
Such a comprehensive study of the issue is also useful not only for future specialists planning to conduct research in this area, but also for teachers. It is also useful for those people who carry out practical activities in the field of international relations: diplomats, politicians, and so on.
Information society
Tsygankov P. A. in “The Theory of International Relations” cites excerpts from the works of scientists belonging to various scientific groups. The need for such an approach to the compilation of the manual can be recognized by considering the following example. At present, according to some economists and sociologists, many countries of the world have risen to a new stage of development. They moved from the industrial stage of society to the informational one.
With such a social formation, most people are not engaged in the production of material values, but in the creation and processing of information. This change could not but affect global processes such as wars, revolutions, and so on. In addition to armed conflicts, there are already others, for example, informational ones. In the realistic direction of the theory of international relations, these modern trends are hardly taken into account, while they are considered by representatives of other schools.
Opinion of the author
Tsygankov in The Theory of International Relations explains the selection criteria for literature as follows. The author cites an important historical fact: the first works in this area were written by English scientists in the early twentieth century. After that, England for several years maintained a leading position in the number of publications on this topic. Over time, this championship passed to the United States of America. This is explained by a number of reasons.
The main one is the great interest of the government of this country in theoretical research in the field of international relations. One of the scientists said that a good theory is always of great practical importance. Apparently, the American government adheres to such considerations, allocating significant funds for research.
Therefore, the compilation of the “Theory of International Relations” by Tsygankov (anthology) was mainly carried out using English and American literature. The author himself says that he admits the possibility of criticism of such a choice. According to him, some representatives of the scientific community will undoubtedly talk about the need to include scientists who are not members of the English and American schools in the anthology. But in his opinion, it is more correct to speak not about the nationality of a particular author, but about the relevance of his work at the present time.
Tsygankov in The Theory of International Relations states that there is a lot of literature on this subject, which is considered an unconditional classic. But a significant part of it has lost its relevance in view of the fact that many of the problems that were considered in it are currently resolved. Of course, these works can be included in the anthology, but only as part of the history of this branch of knowledge.
Domestic science
In our country, the theory of international relations in its modern form is a relatively young discipline. The formation of individual scientific schools within its framework is only at the initial stage. Meanwhile, the completion of such a process is necessary for the development of the theory and practice of international relations. Moreover, today institutions that train specialists in this field exist not only in Moscow and St. Petersburg. There are several dozen of them throughout the country. This means that it is impossible to overestimate the value of “Theory of International Relations” by Tsygankov and other similar literature.
The need for a large number of specialists in this field began to be felt much stronger when communication with other states began to be carried out not only at the national, but also at the regional level. Along with this, a number of questions arose, many of which remain open to this day. For example, in Tsygankov's Theory of International Relations, the concept of this discipline is not uniquely formulated.
Instead, this book provides several points of view on this subject, each of which belongs to the supporters of a scientific paradigm. So, for example, adherents of the realistic direction believe that international relations are only ties between states, and not between nations. Other scholars believe that in recent years this concept has also begun to encompass some elements of domestic policy.
A universal and national approach
The anthology Theory of International Relations, edited by Professor Tsygankov, is often criticized due to the predominance of material written by English-speaking authors. The compiler of this book himself says that every such work is doomed to such attacks. After all, any choice of several works from the whole variety of world literature will certainly seem unjustified and subjective to someone. Most often, professors Tsygankov accused of insufficient attention to the achievements of domestic science.
However, in the textbook, the professor also considers the situation in Russia. Including he cites the following facts.
In our country, there is often intense debate between scholars about whether it is worthwhile to discover universal principles in the theory of international relations that can be applied to all countries of the world, regardless of their political, religious, cultural and other features. Some researchers are of the opinion that these individual characteristics of each state must certainly be reflected in scientific theories.
These two points of view are devoted to the chapter of the textbook “Theory of International Relations” by Tsygankov.
This circumstance can be attributed to the merits of the book, since the importance of cultural factors in the field of foreign policy was recognized by some prominent people back in the Middle Ages. It is known that Genghis Khan was anxious about the traditions and customs of the peoples he conquered. According to the chroniclers of that time, he celebrated the holidays of the states subject to him.
Features of “Theory of International Relations” by Tsygankov
In the introductory article to the reader, Professor Lebedeva gives such a description of it.
The book consists of three parts. The first of them contains articles by prominent representatives of various directions in the theory of international relations. Realism, neorealism, idealism and transnationalism are studied in it by the example of the classical works of each school. In the second section, the compiler published works covering the history of the development of this scientific discipline.
In the third part of Tsygankov’s anthology “The Theory of International Relations,” one can find materials devoted to a review of the situation on the international political scene in different years, as well as an analysis of the events described. Thus, the reader, as he studies the contents of this book, moves from considering general issues to more specific ones.
In the textbook, part of the chapters is devoted to the consideration of the basic concepts and features of directions in the theory of international relations. Other sections deal with problems of war, peace, cultural interactions, and so on. That is, the applied value of the theory is shown.
Such a concept helps to get a fairly complete picture of knowledge in this subject. The book may be useful both to political scientists and specialists from other fields, for which international relations fall within the scope of their professional interests. So, this manual may turn out to be interesting for scientists developing problems of philosophy, psychology, history, and some other sciences. Studying the theory of international relations according to Tsygankov makes it quite comfortable that each of the materials in the textbook and reader is provided with compiler comments that contribute to a better understanding of these works.
Therefore, on a variety of sites devoted to educational literature, one can often find positive reviews about Tsygankov's “Theory of International Relations”.
about the author
Pavel Afanasevich Tsygankov - professor of Moscow State University.
He is one of the founders of the Department of Sociology of International Relations at this educational institution. Next year marks the thirty years since its opening. Twenty of them were headed by Pavel Afanasevich Tsygankov. During this time, he was the supervisor of the writing of more than two dozen candidate dissertations and two works for the doctoral degree. The professor also lectured in many educational institutions abroad.
For his work, the scientist has more than once been awarded domestic and foreign awards and prizes, including for his teaching aids in international relations.
The book, which this article is devoted to, deserves the interest of readers not only because of the significant volume of a selection of vivid articles that allow us to trace the development of this industry, but also thanks to the extensive comments of the compiler. They help to understand the place of each individual material in the context of the entire research activity of a particular author.
This edition was published in thousands of copies. This event, of course, is a great achievement of national education. Indeed, in recent years, with the ever-increasing number of higher education institutions where the theory of international relations is being taught (currently there are more than four hundred of them), there is an acute shortage of such literature. Some books on this discipline are published only in small print runs at local publishers. Often, teachers are forced to recommend to students to study books that were published several decades ago. Such textbooks are certainly obsolete, since they were published in the era when socialist ideology dominated the country.
From her perspective, all the laws and concepts of the theory of international relations in such manuals are considered. In addition to Tsygankov’s anthology, students can also recommend reading articles by the author, which are regularly published in scientific journals. In 2018, two of his works on the problems of the world order were released. In them, the author analyzes the most significant works of international scholars on this topic. One of the articles mentioned was published in the journal Russia in Global Affairs, and the second in the journal of Tomsk State University.
Conclusion
This article presented a brief description of the textbook and anthology P. Tsygankov, “Theory of International Relations. This manual is one of the most popular of its kind. It gives basic concepts on the subject indicated in the title, as well as extracts from the most significant Proceedings of researchers working in this field.