This innovative new text is derived from a highly successful Open
University course of the same title. It takes as a dominant theme
the contested issue of 'globalization' (the apparent
intensification of global patterns of inter-dependence) and its
implications for the autonomy of the modern nation-state.
Following a conceptual introduction, which critically examines
the theoretical debates framing the study of world politics, the
work is structured around four key processes of globalization which
the authors identify as being the central determinants of
contemporary global politics. These key processes are: the global
impact of great power relations; the globalizing tendencies of
technological innovation; the existence of a global economy; and
the globalizing force of modernity.
Reflecting this structure the text is organized into four
discrete sections. Each section explores, both theoretically and
empirically, one of the four processes of globalization.
Throughout, particular attention is paid both to a critical
evaluation of these globalizing processes as well as to their
consequences for the sovereignty and autonomy of the modern
nation-state. Moreover, the authors combine a lucid treatment of
theoretical debates with topical case-study material to produce a
text which is extremely accessible to undergraduate students
studying international relations and politics and to those readers
with little prior knowledge of world affairs.
