This book, first published in 2000, analyses global change which critiques modern social thought and global theory, examining global-democratic revolution.

This book offers a moral argument for world government, claiming that not only do we have strong obligations to people elsewhere, but that accountable integration among nation-states will help ensure all persons can lead a decent life.

Sure to stir controversy and debate, A Theory of Global Capitalism will be of interest to sociologists and economists alike.

What should we expect from democracy, and how likely is it that democracies will live up to those expectations? In The State of Democratic Theory, Ian Shapiro offers a critical assessment of contemporary answers to these questions, lays out his distinctive alternative, and explores its implications for policy and political action. Some accounts of democracy's purposes focus on aggregating preferences; others deal with collective deliberation in search of the common good. Shapiro reveals the shortcomings of both, arguing instead that democracy should be geared toward minimizing domination throughout society. He contends that Joseph Schumpeter's classic defense of competitive democracy is a useful starting point for achieving this purpose, but that it stands in need of radical supplementation--both with respect to its operation in national political institutions and in its extension to other forms of collective association. Shapiro's unusually wide-ranging discussion also deals with the conditions that make democracy's survival more and less likely, with the challenges presented by ethnic differences and claims for group rights, and with the relations between democracy and the distribution of income and wealth. Ranging over politics, philosophy, constitutional law, economics, sociology, and psychology, this book is written in Shapiro's characteristic lucid style--a style that engages practitioners within the field while also opening up the debate to newcomers.

In The State of State Theory: State Projects, Repression, and Multi-Sites of Power, Glasberg, Willis, and Shannon argue that state theories should be amended to account both for theoretical developments broadly in the contemporary period as well as the multiple sites of power along which the state governs. Using state projects and policies around political economy, sexuality and family, food, welfare policy, racial formation, and social movements as narrative accounts in how the state operates, the authors argue for a complex and intersectional approach to state theory. In doing so, they expand outside of the canon to engage with perspectives within critical race theory, queer theory, and beyond to build theoretical tools for a contemporary and critical state theory capable of providing the foundations for understanding how the state governs, what is at stake in its governance, and, importantly, how people resist and engage with state power.

Forfatterens mål med denne bog er: 1) Analyse af de gældende teorier for international politik og hvad der heri er lagt størst vægt på. 2) Konstruktion af en teori for international politik som kan kan råde bod på de mangler, der er i de nu gældende. 3) Afprøvning af den rekonstruerede teori på faktiske hændelsesforløb.

Global theory represents an influential and popular means of understanding contemporary social and political phenomena. Human identity and social responsibilities are considered in a global context and in the light of a global human condition. A global perspective is assumed to be new and to supersede preceding social theory. However, if contemporary global theory is influential, its identity, assumptions and novelty are controversial. Global Theory from Kant to Hardt and Negri scrutinises global theory by examining how contemporary global theorists simultaneously draw upon and critique preceding modern theories. It re-thinks contemporary global ideas by relating them to the social thought of Kant, Hegel and Marx, and in so doing highlights divergent ambiguous aspects of contemporary global theories, as well as the continuing impact of the ideas of Kant, Hegel and Marx.

Exposes the deep logical contradictions of Realist political thought and counters it with a new, more robust theory of war

This book offers a major new theory of global governance, explaining both its rise and what many see as its current crisis. The author suggests that world politics is now embedded in a normative and institutional structure dominated by hierarchies and power inequalities and therefore inherently creates contestation, resistance, and distributional struggles. Within an ambitious and systematic new conceptual framework, the theory makes four key contributions. Firstly, it reconstructs global governance as a political system which builds on normative principles and reflexive authorities. Second, it identifies the central legitimation problems of the global governance system with a constitutionalist setting in mind. Third, it explains the rise of state and societal contestation by identifying key endogenous dynamics and probing the causal mechanisms that produced them. Finally, it identifies the conditions under which struggles in the global governance system lead to decline or deepening. Rich with propositions, insights, and evidence, the book promises to be the most important and comprehensive theoretical argument about world politics of the 21st century.

This study brings together internationally renowned academics to provide a detailed insight into the theory and practice of state-building. State-building is one of the dominant themes in contemporary international relations. This text addresses both the theoretical logic behind state-building and key practical manifestations of this phenomenon. Unlike ‘how-to’ manuals that seek to identify best practice, this book interrogates the normative assumptions inherent in this practice and the manner in which state-building impacts on contemporary international relations. The logic of state-building is explored and analyzed providing insight into the historical context that catalyzed this process, the relationship between international law and the practice of international administration, and the political ramifications and implications of external governance. Case studies on Bosnia, Kosovo and East Timor provide practical examples of key contradictions within the state-building process, highlighting the lack of accountability, democracy and vision manifest in these operations. Offering a coherent critical analysis of an increasingly important international issue, State-Building will appeal to students and scholars of international relations, comparative politics and political theory.