Culture and International Relations

Meeting a major challenge, twenty-four scholars collaborated to produce this unprecedented volume on the cultural dimensions of international relations. This field of study, long considered too vast, has up to now been neglected by scholars in the humanities and international relations. This 18-chapter book provides a theoretical overview, examines the present status of scholarship where international relations and the humanities intersect, and studies the impact of cultural differences in shaping foreign policy. U.S. international political culture receives special attention. Other cultures given close examination include Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. The book concludes with a discussion of the key issues in culture and international relations.

The importance of culture in international relations has long been recognized yet neglected. This volume fills this void of scholarship. It has three objectives: to survey studies completed to date; to determine the impact of cultural differences upon the foreign policy making process; and, most importantly, to push forward the frontiers of knowledge in this field.

JONGSUK CHAY is a Professor of History at Pembroke State University. He is the editor or coeditor of Problems and Prospects of American-East Asian Relations (1987), U.S.-Korean Relations, 1882-1982 (1982), and The Buffer States in World Politics (1987) and the author of A Symmetrical Diplomacy: Korean-American Relation to 1910(1990) and a number of scholarly articles and chapters on American-East Asian Relations, American foreign policy, and international relations.