Despite its prominent place in contemporary political discourse and international relations, the idea of the “global order” remains surprisingly sketchy. Though it’s easy to identify the nations and actors who comprise the major players, but pinning down concrete definitions can be more difficult. This book not only clarifies a number of related key terms—including the use of international versus global and system versus order—but also offers a variety of perspectives for theorizing global order.

Gunther Hellmann is professor of political science at Goethe University Frankfurt.