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Scientific Cosmology and International Orders
About this book
Scientific Cosmology and International Orders shows how scientific ideas have transformed international politics since 1550. Allan argues that cosmological concepts arising from Western science made possible the shift from a sixteenth-century order premised upon divine providence to the present order centred on economic growth. As states and other international associations used scientific ideas to solve problems, they slowly reconfigured ideas about how the world works, humanity's place in the universe, and the meaning of progress. The book demonstrates the rise of scientific ideas across three cases: natural philosophy in balance of power politics, 1550โ1815; geology and Darwinism in British colonial policy and international colonial orders, 1860โ1950; and cybernetic-systems thinking and economics in the World Bank and American liberal order, 1945โ2015. Together, the cases trace the emergence of economic growth as a central end of states from its origins in colonial doctrines of development and balance of power thinking about improvement.
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Half title
- Series information
- Title page
- Copyright information
- Dedication
- Table of contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Introduction: Science and the Transformation of International Politics
- 2 Cosmology and Change in International Orders
- 3 Natural Philosophy in Balance of Power Europe, 1550โ1815
- 4 Darwin, Social Knowledge, and Development in the British Colonial Office and the League of Nations, 1850โ1945
- 5 Neoclassical Economics and the Rise of Growth in the World Bank and Postwar International Order, 1945โ2015
- 6 Conclusion: The Future of Cosmological Change
- Methodological Appendix
- References
- Index