Governance without Government: Order and Change in World Politics

A world government capable of controlling nation-states has never evolved. Nonetheless, considerable governance underlies the current order among states, facilitates absorption of the rapid changes at work in the world, and gives direction to the challenges posed by interstate conflicts, environmental pollution, currency crises, and the many other problems to which an ever expanding global interdependence gives rise. In this study, ten leading specialists examine the central features of this "governance without government." They explore the ideational bases, behavioral patterns, and institutional arrangements that give structure and direction to the diverse forms of governance prevailing in different parts of the world. The authors pay particular attention to the pervasive changes presently at work within and among states. They assess to what extent the changes promote and sustain order in the global system and consider within this context of change and order the Concert of Europe, the pillars of the Westphalian system, the effectiveness of international institutions and regulatory mechanisms, the European Community and other micro-underpinnings of macro-governance practices. This path-breaking volume departs from established ways of studying international relations and the post-Cold War order. It will be widely read by all who teach, study, and practice international relations.