A History of International Relations Theory: An Introduction

By examining the rise and fall of the Spanish, Dutch, British, French, and lastly the United States Knutsen, in my opinion, refutes some of the claims that have been directed toward the eventual fall of the United States as a world power. Knutsen shows that some of the theorectical claims in dealing with why major powers have fallen, and there is a solid basis as to why the theories are not entirely applicable.I do think and wish that to some degree, while he refutes the various theories and points out why they are not applicable in all of the situations that were addressed, that he had proposed a theory that might fit the various situations that were examined. Overall however, Knutsen's book is well written and even though it does address a serious topic in the realm of political science and international relations, he does make it so that the average person can read it and understand it. I recommend this book as a good overview as to some of the reasons great empires of the past have fallen and what maybe, we might expect in the future.