Overview

This important contribution to the study of the problem of order, which figures prominently in today's globalization debate, focuses on the role of sovereignty. It advances arguments based on psychocultural perspectives and looks at postcommunist transformations and changes in political, economic and cultural orders at all levels of social life.

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9781403972446

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Professor Pickel's book is exceptional in three respects. First, it deals with problems in the real world instead of presenting one more pseudo-mathematical model about highly idealized situations. Second, Pickel respects data but does not worship data-gathering. Instead, he attempts to explain facts in terms of mechanisms, or processes in complex systems. Last, but not least, Pickel knows that science is not done in a philosophical vacuum: he makes his philosophical assumptions explicit. And his main principles rationality, scientific realism, and systemism- are tailored to successful scientific research. For all these reasons I warmly recommend this book to anyone interested in understanding the momentous political changes we are witnessing these days. --Mario Bunge FRSC, Frothingham Professor of Logic and Metaphysics No one can accuse Andreas Pickel of timidity! In a single compact book, he takes up how people relate to sovereign states, what transitions from socialism meant, how we should understand globalisation, the (in)adequacy of social science as it now exists, and the general problem of explaining social order. The wonder is double: that he brings fresh insight to each of these questions, and that he shows how they connect with each other. --Charles Tilly, Joseph L. Buttenwieser Professor of Social Science, Columbia University <br>

Professor Pickel's book is exceptional in three respects. First, it deals with problems in the real world instead of presenting one more pseudo-mathematical model about highly idealized situations. Second, Pickel respects data but does not worship data-gathering. Instead, he attempts to explain facts in terms of mechanisms, or processes in complex systems. Last, but not least, Pickel knows that science is not done in a philosophical vacuum: he makes his philosophical assumptions explicit. And his main principles rationality, scientific realism, and systemism- are tailored to successful scientific research. For all these reasons I warmly recommend this book to anyone interested in understanding the momentous political changes we are witnessing these days. --Mario Bunge FRSC, Frothingham Professor of Logic and Metaphysics No one can accuse Andreas Pickel of timidity! In a single compact book, he takes up how people relate to sovereign states, what transitions from socialism meant, how w

Author Information

ANDREAS PICKEL is Professor of Political Studies, Trent University, Canada.

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