'Epistemology,' 'Ontology,' The Oxford Companion to Philosophy, Ted Honderich (ed.) Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.
This companion is a virtual necessity for any undergraduate student attempting to wade their way thought the myriad of prefixes, suffixes, -isms, and -ists that populate the rhetoric of philosophy.

Ashley, Richard. 'The Geopolitics of Geopolitical space: toward a critical social theory of International Politics.' Alternatives, XII 1987 p403-434.
In one of the first full length 'postmodernist' pieces on international relations ever to be written, Richard Ashley argues that both international politics and the modern state have constructed a discourse in which specific geographical lines are drawn around the globe. Ashley argues that the construction of these borders and the geopolitical culture that accompanies them are crucial areas of international politics that need to be investigated by using interpretive techniques such as 'geneaologies', as developed by Nietzsche and Foucault.

Roy, Rashmary, RBJ Walker, and Richard Ashley. 'Diaglogue: Towards a Critical Social Theory of International Politics.' Alternatives. XIII, 1988 p77-102.
These three short pieces serve as follow up comments to Ashley's previous essay. Rashmary Roy argues for a more foundationalist approach to international politics which stresses the actual dynamics of power rather than the nebulous world of discourse. Walker points out some of the gaps in Ashley's argumentation, although he is sympathetic to Ashley's approach. Finally, Ashley's response clarifies and expounds on his notions of discourse & power, and the political techniques used to negotiate the relationship between the two.

Ashley, Richard. 'Eye of Power.' International Organizations. V37 N3, 1983 p495-535.

Bartelson, Jens. A Genealogy of Sovereignty. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
Despite being one of the most commonly assumed 'reality' in international relations, sovereignty, Bartelson argues, has changed and developed over a long period of contentious historical time.

Booth, Ken and Steve Smith. International Relations Theory Today. Cambridge: Polity 1995.
This collection of essays edited by Ken Booth and Steve Smith is both useful in terms of the variety of perspectives it offers and in terms of the issues which it addresses. Examples include Booth's introductory essay where he attempts to describe the trends in international theory that include but also go beyond the 'great debates' between idealism and realism, John Vasquez's essay which points to some of the dangers in assuming that such enlightenment ideas such as rationality are analytically useless in an emerging field such as international relations, and J. Ann Tickner's essay on the changing nature of security in the post-cold war world, which includes discussions of third world, feminist, and postmodernist criticisms of theories which emphasize the 'balance of power.'

Campbell, David. 'Global Inscription: How Foreign Policy Constitutes the United States.' Alternatives, XV 1990 p263-286.
In this article, David Campbell argues that U.S. Foreign Policy has been important not only in its ability to 'secure' the United States from objective foreign enemies but also in its inability to define and eliminate domestic enemies as well.

Chaloupka, William. Knowing Nukes: The politics of culture of the atom. Minneapolis: Univer. Minnesota Press, 1992.

Connolly, William E. Identity/Difference: democratic negotiations of political paradox. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1991.
A clear and interesting dialogue about what 'democracy' and ethics mean form a post-modern perspective. An excellent attempt to provide an answer to what moral system might emerge from an interpretive perspective.

Dalby, Simon. 'Geopolitical Discourse: the Soviet Union as Other', Alternatives, v13 1988, p415-442.
In this comprehensive article, Dalby discusses the way in which the literature regarding nuclear deterrence during the early 1980s described and proscribed a particular geopolitical and representational relationship between the Soviet Union and the United States, in which the Soviet Union is demonized as the 'other.'

Dallmayr, Fred. 'The politics of nonidentity: Adorno, postmodernism, and Edward Said.' Political Theory. V25 N1, Feb 1997, p33-56.
Dallmayr argues that a certain ironically-positioned 'non-identity', to borrow Adorno's terminology, needs to be found. Dallmayr uses Edward Said's works on post-colonial identity as the basis for such a reconstitute project.

Devetak, Richard, 'The Project of Modernity and International Relations Theory.' Millennium. 1995 v24 n1 pp27-51.
This piece by Devetak serves not only as a useful introduction to literature on modernity, but also attempts to flesh out the debate within the literature between those who would completely abandon Enlightenment notions of rationality and those who hold on to the ideals of modernity.

Krause, Keith and Michael C. Williams (eds.), Critical Security Studies. Minneapolis: Univ. Of Minnesota 1997.
This volume includes a useful overview regarding exactly what traditions inform 'critical security studies.' In addition to the theoretical chapters, which address the current issue of what 'new' issues of security might be, there are a number of issue focused, empirical chapters, including a piece by Beverly Crawford about economic security.

Neufield, Mark. The Restructuring of International Relations Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
Neufield attempts to develop a systematic critique of positivist research. For each point in his critique critique, such as the lack of notions of agency or culture within a strictly materialistic positivist orientation, he draws parallels to recent I.R. debates, in this case, whether or not international regimes are built on instrumental cooperation or on some normative shared understanding.

Price, Richard. The Chemical Weapons Taboo. Ithica: Cornell Univ. Press, 1997.
A constructivist scholar's take on the issue of why, even during periods of intense conflict, there seems to have been a multilateral prohibition on the use of chemical weapons of mass destruction.

Rogin, Michael. Ronald Reagan, the movie, and other episodes in political demonology. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987.
This study traces the way in which particular political leaders develop and legitimize their political authority.

Shapiro, Michael. 'Strategic Discourse/Discursive strategy: the representation of security policy in the video age.' International Studies Quarterly. 1990 Vol 34, p327-340.
This essay attempts to trace the way in which 'security' has changed in an era in which the West's images of who is insecure and who is doing the securing is largely mediated by television and other forms of mass media.

Shapiro, Michael. 'That Obscure Object of violence: Logistics and Desire in the Gulf War.' In D. Campbell and M. Dillion, The Political Subject of Violence. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1993.
This essay is a detailed reading of Luis Bunuel's classic piece of French cinema 'That Obscure Object of Desire' and the coverage of the Gulf War by Western media. The analysis contains specific psychoanalytic language, following mostly Lacan, and contains a number of specific references to the movie.

James Der Derian

Huysmans, Jef. 'James Der Derian: the unbearable lightness of theory.' The Future of International Relations. Ole Weaver (ed.), New York: Routledge, 1997.
An useful overview of DerDerian's works with some critical observations.

Der Derian, James. 'The CIA, Hollywood, and Sovereign Conspiracies.' Queen's Quarterly. V100, N2 Summer 1993.
An excellent article which attempts to trace certain trends in the nature of the political representation of international relations through Hollywood spy films. Among the films examined is Sydney Pollack's '3 Days of the Condor'. DerDerian pays particular attention to the elements of secrecy and conspiracy which is common in spy films, and what such ideological dispositions such tropes betray.

Der Derian, James. Antidiplomacy: Spies, Terror, Speed, and War. New York: Blackwell, 1992.
A collection of DerDerian's rescent essays, with some revision and new material. After theoretical overviews about 'espionage' 'terrorism' and 'speed', DerDerian includes a long chapter analysing the specific coverage of the cold war in terms of the Western media. A disparate yet useful collection.

Der Derian, James. 'A Reinterpretation of Realism: Geneaology, Semiology, Dromology.' In James Der Derian (ed.), International Theory: Critical Investigations. New York University Press, 1995.
The conclusion of Der Derian's edited collection which attempts to synthesize the historical debates in IR theory and offer a 'reinterpretation' of the discipline based upon post-modern theoretical insights.

Jacques Derrida