This volume considers one of the biggest questions of our time, namely, how did we arrive at this historical and institutional expression of political community? And what alternative future world orders exist? The scope of this volume includes accounts of the development of both the European and non-European experiences.

Foreword Richard Little; Introduction Michael Cox, Tim Dunne and Ken Booth; 1. Rethinking the sovereign state model Stephen D. Krasner; 2. System, empire and state in Chinese international relations Yongjin Zhang; 3. The rise of the state system in Africa Carolyn M. Warner; 4. Between anarchy and tyranny: excellence and the pursuit of power and peace in ancient Greece Nany Kokaz; 5. Before sovereignty: society and politics in ancien regime Europe Andreas Osiander; 6. The eighteenth century international system: parity or primacy James R. Sofka; 7. The long nineteenth century in Europe: reinterpreting the concert system Hudson Meadwell; 8. American power and the empire of capitalist democracy G. John Ikenberry; 9. The Russian-Soviet empire: a test of neorealism William Wohlforth; 10. Another 'double movement': the great transformation after the Cold War Ian Clark; 11 Capitalism and world (dis)order Giovanni Arrighi and Beverley J. Silver; 12. Variation and change and transitions in international politics Robert Jervis.