Top 5 books: edited volumes
The only thing worse than judging a book by its cover is judging an edited volume by its potential. More often than not, our reviewers have complaints: there is no overarching theoretical framework; the chapters are too short or too superficial; the geographical distribution is lacking; the issues are underexplored; there is no dialogue between the contributors; the list goes on. Yet, for all these potential drawbacks, those rare edited volumes that do deliver on their potential can be worth their weight in gold. For those of you sceptical of the format, Book Reviews Editor Mariana Vieira has compiled a selection of edited volumes that will restore your hope and appetite for multi-authored collections on authoritarianism, small states, the environment and more.
1) Global resurgence of the right
Edited by Gisela Pereyra Doval and Gastón Souroujon. Published in Abingdon and New York by Routledge.
In Global resurgence of the right, the contributors argue that twenty-first-century right-wing forces, whether parties, organizations or social movements, are distinct from those that emerged in the interwar years. As a unique selling point, the Argentina-based editors, Gisela Pereyra Doval and Gastón Souroujon, bring together a diverse range of voices from the Americas and Europe. With over 15 contributors, the book traces the emergence of the populist right across the globe, and it includes insightful theoretical debates, regional perspectives and an extensive collection of case-studies. This thorough overview will greatly benefit readers and scholars of right-wing populism, fascism and conservatism.
Read the full review here.
2) The politics of smallness in modern Europe
Edited by Samuël Kruizinga. Published in London by Bloomsbury.
What defines a small state? Does it matter? With 16 contributors and ten European case-studies, the book is ‘less preoccupied with what a small state “is”, exploring instead what smallness “does”’. The contributors ground their analysis in a relational approach to asymmetric (and hierarchical) interactions between European states. With an interdisciplinary flavour, the book draws from cultural history and political science to shed light on how perceptions of smallness have shaped the identity and agency of countries like the Czech Republic, Iceland and Serbia, as well as informed their strategic attitudes towards neutrality. The affordable paperback version is available later this year, so keep an eye out!
Read the full review here.
3) New authoritarian practices in the Middle East and North Africa
Edited by Özgün E. Topak, Merouan Mekouar and Francesco Cavatorta. Published in Edinburgh by Edinburgh University Press.
While countless pages have been devoted to understanding the Arab Spring revolutions of 2011, this volume aims to explain why and how authoritarianism has persisted in their aftermath. The contributors explore ‘new’ digital surveillance techniques and also illustrate continuities with more traditional practices. The result is a haunting portrayal of the strategies that states across the region have deployed to suppress dissent and maintain power. Impressively, the book features 17 countries without losing sight of how different agents and external partners also shape the evolution of authoritarianism within particular national contexts.
Read the full review here.
4) Great powers, climate change, and global environmental responsibilities
Edited by Robert Falkner and Barry Buzan. Published in Oxford by Oxford University Press.
In this volume, edited by Robert Falkner and Barry Buzan, 16 scholars analyse the environmental responsibilities of great powers. The book combines a refreshing conceptualization of environmental power as either positive or negative with an incisive analysis of how great powers can advance or constrain international progress tackling climate change. The contributors adopt a country-by-country approach, with further chapters on international institutions and key policy areas. Overall, this excellent volume manages that rare feat of combining genuine theoretical innovation with acute policy relevance.
Read the full review here.
5) The new Pan-Americanism and the structuring of inter-American relations
Edited by Juan Pablo Scarfi and David M. K. Sheinin. Published in Abingdon and New York by Routledge.
Two months after Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt launched his Good Neighbour Policy. As a result, the United States focused its diplomatic efforts firmly on the western hemisphere, instead of Europe. While Pan-Americanism has been described as the ‘friendly face of US aggression’, this edited volume persuasively emphasizes the plurality of the movement in a revisionist effort to recognize the agency of Latin American actors. Throughout, the contributors account for how Mexicans, Argentinians, Uruguayans and others seized this platform to voice their ideas on topics like finance, feminism and intervention. As a result, this volume re-imagines Pan-Americanism beyond US diplomatic and economic priorities, to account for the cultural exchanges that shaped how the movement evolved over time.
Read the full review here.
Mariana Vieira is the Book Reviews Editor of International Affairs.
Read the review section in our July 2023 issue in full here.
Find more suggestions from the IA Bookshelf series here.
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