The study of global governance has often led separate lives within the respective camps of International Political Economy and Foucauldian Studies. Despite vast differences in these approaches, Guzzini and Neumann's study recognises that ongoing changes in global governance go far beyond a proliferation of steering techniques and has a systems-changing potential. As politics becomes increasingly global in character and the number of agents attempting to govern grows, this in-depth range of case studies suggests the emergence of a global polity.

The study of global governance has often led separate lives within the respective camps of International Political Economy and Foucauldian Studies. Guzzini and Neumann combine these to look at an increasingly global politics with a growing number of agents, recognising the emergence of a global polity.