International relations in a changing global system

by Seyom Brown

The contemporary system of nation states is experiencing a profound transformation. Since the seventeenth century the world polity has consisted of a shifting set of individual, more or less autonomous states; today there are more professedly sovereign countries than ever, but they are so much more closely interconnected than before that the essential nature of the world polity has been dramatically altered. It is the task of international relations theory to keep up with a changing world, and in this short text Seyom Brown develops the outline of a new theory that places the politics of international relations in a wider global context of economics, ecology, culture, and conflicting values. Simple in conception, logically tight, and brilliantly executed, International Relations in a Changing Global System presents a new way of thinking about the global system of nations. Brown explains how the present international system originated and has evolved, examines its current problems, and