Challenging the conventional view that globalization embodies a new and inexorable process, this book analyzes the political foundations and choices involved in contemporary arrangements in the world. Rather than treating politics as contention for control over an unforeseeable future, the book explains the background by which the world has arrived at its present state. Thus, the author presents a view that emphasizes continuity with the past while still acknowledging what is new in the present. Invoking many examples throughout, the author bolsters the theoretical analysis in an extended case study of Malaysia.

Challenging the conventional view that globalization embodies a new and inexorable process, this book analyzes the political foundations and choices involved in contemporary arrangements in the world. Rather than treating politics as contention for control over an unforeseeable future, the book explains the background by which the world has arrived at its present state. Thus, the author presents a view that emphasizes continuity with the past while still acknowledging what is new in the present. Invoking many examples throughout, the author bolsters the theoretical analysis in an extended case study of Malaysia.

Lentner analyzes four basic components in the formation of states: the capacity to govern, security and freedom of action, economic development strategy, and citizenship and political participation. He focuses on five Central American countries--Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. His conceptual guidelines apply to the worldwide strivings today for autonomy, unity, economic development, and democracy. His extensive research into original and little-known secondary sources from the independence of these states to the present both in the United States and Central America make this an unusually rich text for graduate students and scholars dealing with Latin American studies, Inter-American affairs, and U.S. foreign policy.

This book provides the first systematic examination of the relationship of hegemony and power. Nine essays delve into the diverse analytical aspects of the two concepts, and an introduction and conclusion by the editors, respectively, forge a synthesis of their theoretical coherence. Hegemony has long existed as a term in political science, international relations, and social theory, but its meaning varies across these fields. While each has developed its own 'local' language games for treating the idea, they all conceptualize hegemony as a form of power. Building on the recent rigorous exposition of power, this book subjects hegemony to a clarifying debate. In doing so, it advances the power debate. Components of the literature assume a relationship between power and hegemony, but no previous work has performed a concentrated and consistent analytical examination of them until now.

This book provides the first systematic examination of the relationship of hegemony and power. Nine essays delve into the diverse analytical aspects of the two concepts, and an introduction and conclusion by the editors, respectively, forge a synthesis of their theoretical coherence. Hegemony has long existed as a term in political science, international relations, and social theory, but its meaning varies across these fields. While each has developed its own 'local' language games for treating the idea, they all conceptualize hegemony as a form of power. Building on the recent rigorous exposition of power, this book subjects hegemony to a clarifying debate. In doing so, it advances the power debate. Components of the literature assume a relationship between power and hegemony, but no previous work has performed a concentrated and consistent analytical examination of them until now.

This major book provides an up-to-date and state-of-the-art overview of the contemporary theory and practice of the most central concept in political science: power. The concept of political power is introduced within a three-part framework: contemporary theories of power; applications of power processes and practices; and the implications of modern power flows across the globe today. The book explores the many structures of power in the contemporary world from theories of its construction and use, to its operation in policy networks, and its wider exercise at different levels in the political process, from the local to the global. Amongst the many themes explored are the reproduction and the legitimization of power, the dynamics of resistance and coercion, the concepts of private and public power, and the impact of globalization processes and subsequent shifting power arrangements. Combining diverse perspectives and different tools of analysis, this book represents the most comprehensive treatment of political power published in the last fifteen years. It will be essential reading for academics and students alike across political science, international studies and political sociology.