What can international relations scholarship tell us about the global political system? This innovative text examines the contribution made by the principal schools of international relations to our understanding of the global system and draws on them to analyze some crucial issues for 21st century politics. Elegantly synthesising history and theory, this text introduces the concepts that have been used to explain the politics and policies of the global system. It challenges the dominance of purely state-based approaches and shows how non-state-based approaches are essential for a full and integrated understanding of today's global politics. Using both approaches, the author examines key issues in contemporary world politics, from international security to economic stability and migration to human rights.

Innovation in the world's institutions and global politics as well as in the physical environment and practices of the contemporary societies has raised the need for specific and up-to-date knowledge about the politics and policies of relief, aid and reconstruction. This book advances the political analysis of international disaster policies which have been mostly in the domain of other social sciences. Exploring the formation of this field of study, this collection analyses the most recent disaster events including the Haiti earthquake, the tsunami in the Pacific Ocean and the genocide in Rwanda and Former Yugoslavia. Broadly linked to constructivism and neo-institutionalism, this book also looks at the impact of these cooperation policies on the governance of the present global system.

This book analyzes China's transformative political power in today's world while simultaneously addressing global issues and the reformation of world institutions. China has become known as the world's first factory and trading power, but more knowledge on China's rise is necessary to understand the world of today and the future. The main question is where China's rise is headed and how this affects the increasingly connected world that faces problems that no state can effectively address on its own. This book analyzes both sides of the coin, that is, the problems of a world scale and the change of the world political order. China is among the major actors for global issues such as mitigating climate warming, controlling weapons of mass destruction, combating economic inequality and underdevelopment, and improving health for all. In the current setting of the new world order, all countries and especially world powers develop a general blueprint for the future, as cultural and material conditions of the present world are very different from the past. Under such conditions, China faces a review of its bilateral and regional strategies, as well as its position and actions in world institutions that have the mission of forming policy responses to issues of a global scale. This book, therefore, provides insight into China's view of world problems and the future world order. It is a must-read for everybody interested in a better understanding of China's role in today's world and the global power shift.

This book examines the current phase of world order transition in the Atlantic area, focusing on Europe and Northern America, Asia, and Africa. In particular, it describes four processes of world order transition, namely the decreasing American leadership, the rising power of China, the receding effectiveness of economy and security world policies, and the continued but inadequate operation of the world policy-making institutions. Part one of the book presents perspectives on world order transition developed by political science schools, i.e. the world hegemony and the power transition school, and by the experts of complexity theory, a newcomer in social sciences. These theories are best suited to explain the order transition and to supply consistent, complementary data and insights on the juncture of the four processes pushing for the creation of the new world order. Part two looks into the impact of order transition on the Atlantic area. The authors focus on the existing tensions and the potentials for change that affect the long-time relations between the USA, the European countries, and Canada. At the same time, the interference of China into the politics and economy of Europe is analyzed, in particular through a case study of the relations between China and the Baltic states.

This title presents complementary analyses of the current features, issues and trends of multilateral security and the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) peace operations. The analyses offers the reader a sound interpretation of the attributes of ESDP operations in the context of the diffusion of peace operations practice in the present time. Founded on the detailed examination of different peace operations and the analysis of relevant data, the book chapters give to the reader the chance of assessing the near-term future of peace operations.

Managing a Multilevel Foreign Policy is a helpful resource for enhancing current understanding of the European Union as an emerging actor in the global system. Analyzing the role of the EU in international affairs, Foradori, Rosa, and Scartezzini seek to foster understanding of the complexity of the present international conditions and the ways in which the EU is responding to threats and opportunities from the outside world. The numerous contributors examine the latest developments in the fields of EU foreign, security, and defense policies, providing a complete overview of the ways in which the EU has grown as a global actor with a significant impact on international affairs.

Managing a Multilevel Foreign Policy is a helpful resource for enhancing current understanding of the European Union as an emerging actor in the global system. Analyzing the role of the EU in international affairs, Foradori, Rosa, and Scartezzini seek to foster understanding of the complexity of the present international conditions and the ways in which the EU is responding to threats and opportunities from the outside world. The numerous contributors examine the latest developments in the fields of EU foreign, security, and defense policies, providing a complete overview of the ways in which the EU has grown as a global actor with a significant impact on international affairs.

This book examines the current phase of world order transition in the Atlantic area, focusing on Europe and Northern America, Asia, and Africa. In particular, it describes four processes of world order transition, namely the decreasing American leadership, the rising power of China, the receding effectiveness of economy and security world policies, and the continued but inadequate operation of the world policy-making institutions. Part one of the book presents perspectives on world order transition developed by political science schools, i.e. the world hegemony and the power transition school, and by the experts of complexity theory, a newcomer in social sciences. These theories are best suited to explain the order transition and to supply consistent, complementary data and insights on the juncture of the four processes pushing for the creation of the new world order. Part two looks into the impact of order transition on the Atlantic area. The authors focus on the existing tensions and the potentials for change that affect the long-time relations between the USA, the European countries, and Canada. At the same time, the interference of China into the politics and economy of Europe is analyzed, in particular through a case study of the relations between China and the Baltic states.

Disaster policies present a new challenge to the practitioners and students of global politics; this book explains how political science enriches the contribution of the social sciences to the study of disaster relief, aid and reconstruction following the major disaster events, both natural and man-made, of recent times.