 Orientalism - Edward Said.

Though not defined as IR, I believe the concept

is an important one for this topic

 Freakonomics - Levitt and Dubner. For some economic foundation

 The Israel Lobby - Walt and Mearsheimer. This is an excellent example of

going in-depth of a very misunderstood international relationship and will
make you wonder about other relations

 Imagined Communities - Benedict Anderson. Another non-IR book, but

another good one for some sociological interpretation of nationalism. I think it
fits well

 The Anarchical Society - Hedley Bull. Theory

 Politics Among Nations - Morgenthau. Theory

 Sex and World Peace - Hudson, Balif-Spanvill, Caprioli, Emmett. Very new
publication I love that applies very much to today.

 Guns, Germs and Steel - Jared Diamond. Another foundational work I think
everyone needs to read for sociology, politics, or life

 Anything by Kenneth Waltz. Man, the State, and War is one example

 The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations

- Baylis, John, Smith, Owens.

 Perspectives on International Relations: Power, Institutions, Ideas -Henry

Nau

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire – Gibbon

Kenneth N. Waltz - Theory of International Politics

Hans Morgenthau - Politics Among Nations
Edward H. Carr - The Twenty-Years Crisis
Robert Gilipin - War and Change in World Politics
James Rosenau - Turbulence in World Politics
Hedley Bull - The Anarchical Society
Alexander Wendt - Social Theory of International Politics
Barry Buzan - People, States and Fear
King, Keohane, Verba - Designing Social Inquiry

1. Of Paradise and Power by Robert Kagan

2. Dictators by Richard Overy
3. Theory of International politics by Kenneth Waltz
4. The Second World War by Antony Beevor

An outstanding book, which has not been mentioned by others is Raymond Aron’s Les
Guerres en Chaine, translated as The Century of Total War. Before World War I, wars
were fought between armies. Beginning with World War I, wars came to be fought
between whole populations.

I would say Hans Morhenthau, Politics Among Nations; Kenneth Waltz, Theory of
International Politics; Robert Keohane and Joseph Nye, Power and Interdependence;
Alexander Wendt, Social Theory of International Politics. This is almost the whole
canon. and thery are intertextual, such as Keohane and Nye react to Morgenthau;
Wendt to Waltz etc.

A classicist may add Tucydides, Machiavelli and Hobbes, maybe Rousseau, though at
least two of them should be readings from basics Political Science.

Then, it becomes pretty subjective. If you like rational choice or statistics, you may go
the CoW way and read Geller and Singer or Neorealism and neoliberalism, or Robert
Axelrod`s famous Evolution of Cooperation.

If you enjoy critical theory, start with Carr of Cox, then Linklater etc. For English School,
Martin Wight, Bull and so on.

Kenneth Waltz - Theory of international politics

Robert O. Keohane - after Hegemony

Francis Fukuyama - The end of History

Samuel P. - Clash of Civilizations

Hans Morgenthau - politics among Nations.

1. Man, the State, and War by Kenneth Waltz-

Bible for International Relations. An excellent account about how
International relations depend on the nature of the statesmen, capitalistic
intentions of states and how anarchic structure of the international system
can lead to war. Neorealism for you, ladies and gentleman.

Also read- On Anarchism by Noam Chomsky for a balanced view on

anarchy. You can skim through wikipages of Anarcho-capitalism, Libertarian
Socialism and Anarcho-syndicalism to come across more justification for
anarchy being an ideal state of the world, or find books/essays related to it.
2. The Tragedy of Great Power Politics - John Mearsheimer-
What is realism? And what is offensive and defensive realism? What does it
mean to live in the world with mutually assured destruction(MAD)? This book
gives you the answers. Brilliant, though ignores domestic politics a little.

Also read about the bargaining model of wars, to strike a balance once you
are done with the book.
3. The Twenty Years' Crisis, 1919-1939 by Edward Carr-
The period between the end of World war 1 till the start of the Second World
War was important, because it showed how balance of powers is very
important. League of Nations, Woodrow Wilson, Treaty of Versailles,
heartbroken Germany and Italy, and much more which went on to shape the
Second World War while trying to prevent it.
 4. Social Theory of International Politics by Alexander Wendt-
Constructivism is best explained in this book. It says how anarchy is what
you make of it. A good way to summarize will be a quote by Wendt himself,
“The structures of human association are determined primarily by shared
ideas rather than material forces, and that the identities and interests of
purposive actors are constructed by these shared ideas rather than given by
nature”.
5. The Anarchical Society by Hedley Bull-
Explains new medievalism. He writes about how regional cooperation pacts
and unions, and privatization in any country, can lead to reduced power of
the state. He argues that erosion of state sovereignity can lead to formation
of International law. Very idealistic but good read.
6. Soft Power by Joseph Nye
This book talks about how there are better ways to develop cordial
international relations with, which does not include coercive means like
economic help or military involvement. It talks about how sports, culture, art
and lifestyle of a country can be good enough for maintaining healthy foreign
relations. Read this to understand Cultural diplomacy.
7. Diplomacy by Kissinger-
Defends and justifies realpolitik by Machiavelli, and sort of tries to show how
self-interest can still lead to good international relations. Gives a very good
brief into history from the World Wars to the end of Cold war, so can be an
enthralling read.
8. The End of History and the Last Man by Fukuyama-
Fukuyama is one of my favorite writers and in this book he says how western
liberal democracy might be the end point of humanity’s socio-cultural
evolution. This theory is backed up by history since mature democracies
avoid wars the most, however this book does not take into consideration the
influence of religious fundamentalism.
Read Huntington’s Clash of Civilisations, for exploring the downside of this
book.
9. Perception and Misperception in International Politics by Jervis-
An excellent, excellent book. Most of us have read about how the Sino-Indian
war in 1965 was more because of Mao misreading Nehru’s plans of military
mobilization rather than due to any prior agenda. This book can tell you how
and why that is so prevalent and can lead to great wars.
10. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn
Shows the importance of paradigm shift and how it can change the
international order.

 The Twenty Years' Crisis, 1919-1939: An Introduction to the Study of

International Relations - E. H. Carr
 Soft Power: The Means To Success In World Politics

 Perception and Misperception in International Politics - Robert Jervis

 Neorealism and Its Critics - Robert O. Keohane

The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations

(Seventh Edition) Edited by John Baylis, Steve Smith, and Patricia Owens