{"product_id":"beyond-pain-thomas-a-breslin-9780275974312","title":"Beyond Pain: The Role of Pleasure and Culture in the Making of Foreign Affairs","description":"\u003cp\u003eBreslin demonstrates that, for two millennia, states in East Asia, Europe, and America have successfully used pleasure to protect themselves and advance their interests, at a small fraction of the cost of militarized policies. Indeed, the Chinese demonstrated that pleasure-based policies primed a stream of highly profitable foreign trade and bolstered the state. Pleasure was feared because it was effective as both an offensive and defensive strategy. The colleens of Ireland and the bibis of India showed how inexorably effective pleasure could be in confounding militarily stronger invaders. In contrast, resorting to violence and pain generally undermined aggressive states. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCultural factors have shaped the choice of pleasures used. Food-centered China has used food, as well as sex and tourism, as tools in its foreign relations. Rome used wine; Byzantium, precious metals, banquets, and public spectacles; Venice, sex, money, and art; England, money and education. America has used sex, money, education, music, and tourism. Breslin's provocative text is based on a wide reading of secondary sources and some primary sources as well as a quarter century of teaching the history of foreign relations.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Thomas a. Breslin\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0275974316\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780275974312\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Praeger\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/30\/2001\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 216\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.76lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.18h x 6.12w x 0.64d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/01\/2002 pg. 179","brand":"Thomas a. Breslin","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48064813039871,"sku":"9780275974312","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_497fbcdc-b84d-4d22-a27b-8e175af29058.jpg?v=1768671197","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/beyond-pain-thomas-a-breslin-9780275974312","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}