For introductory and upper level undergraduate courses in world politics and international relations. This timely, lively, and insightful book considers the complexity of contemporary global politics and poses some of the most profound empirical and normative questions of our time—particularly how people will be organized politically and will govern their affairs in the 21st century. Examining humanity's transitional state "between two epochs" (the Westphalian and post-Westphalian), the book helps students get a handle on their world, engaging them in critical reflections on broad trends that are likely to shape the human condition. Written in a stimulating, reader-friendly style, it looks at the challenge of making sense today out of what seem to be not merely complex trends but contradictory, paradoxical ones.

Table of Contents:
Preface. I. THE PUZZLE. 1. Introduction: A New World Order, or Disorder? Unwrapping the Puzzle. Critical Questions. The Plan of the Book. 2. An Overview of the Contemporary International System. Systematic Constraints and Opportunities Surrounding Global Institution-Building. The Prospects for a New Multilateralism. 3. Billiard Balls and Cobwebs. Clarification of Terms: States, Nations, and Nation-States. The Paradigm Debate in the Study of World Politics. A Westphalian Worldview: World Politics as a Giant Billiard Table. A Post-Westphalian Worldview: World Politics as a Giant Cobweb. 4. Living with Paradoxes: Shooting Pool and Pooling Sovereignty. Global Public Policy and the Global Political Process. Two- and Three-Level Games. Reconciling Westphalian and Post-Westphalian Perspectives. II. PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER. 5. Challenges to the National Security State: High Politics in the Post-Cold War Era. The Changing Nature of Global Violence and National Security Threats. Global Governance: Efforts at Developing International Security Regimes. The 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention. Conclusion. 6. Challenges to the National Welfare State: Middle Politics in the Post-Cold War Era. The Changing Nature of International Political Economy. Global Governance: Efforts at Developing International Economic Regimes. The Uruguay Round Trade Negotiations and the 1994 Marrakesh Agreement Creating the World Trade Organization. Conclusion. 7. Challenges to the National Ecological State: Low Politics in the Post-Cold War Era. The Nature and Magnitude of Environmental Threats. Global Governance: Efforts at Developing International Environmental Regimes. The 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer. Conclusion. III. SOLVING THE PUZZLE. 8. Summing Up and Moving On: World Politics and Global Governance in the New Millennium. Thinking about the Future. Alternative World Order Models. America, the World, and a New Multilateralism. Some Final Thoughts on Coping with Ambiguity. Appendix: Discussion Questions for the 21st Century Chat Room. Endnotes. Index.