This challenging text questions the meaning and extent of globalization and identifies a range of problems which are global in scope or impact. It provides authoritative, in-depth yet accessible analyses of some of the most important issues facing humankind today.

These include the structural inequalities inherent in contemporary North-South relations, the development of a global economy, the human dimensions of global environmental change and its management, the meaning of and prospects for democratization in a range of contexts, and debates surrounding the development of a broadly focused and inclusive human rights agenda.

The authors demonstrate that global politics must encompass a wide variety of non-state as well as state actors. This involves an explicit rejection of the traditional realist approach to international politics with its focus upon interstate relations and issues of diplomacy and security. Nevertheless the traditional agenda is not neglected but is revisited in the light of contemporary events and debates.

The book includes a survey and critique of structural analyses of international politics, an authoritative discussion of the implications of the disintegration of the Soviet Union and analysis of the meaning of and approaches to conflict and security in the post Cold War world.

As well as providing a lucid analysis of contemporary issues, the book constitutes an accessible resource for understanding global perspectives on world affairs. It is a textbook for the past-Cold War era of interest to students of politics, international studies, human geography, development economics and Third World studies.