国際関係が扱う安全保障、健全な経済、自由、環境は、私たち全てに深く係わる事柄です。国際関係の理解に不可欠として現実主義からフェミニズムまでの理論を我々の日常の一部として飲みこみやすい形で幅広く概観します。政治権力の世界秩序とは対照的な視点として読み解いていきますが、歴史上、こうした秩序は軍事技術の進展、経済の変化、権利を求めての闘い、文化の政治化などを背景に形作られてきたことがわかります。急速に変化する国際情勢を展望する新たな入門書です。（著者、内容ともに完全リニューアルした2020年版）
   

• Presents a new perspective on the nature of international relations, as more than just external relations between sovereign states
• Provides the tools for thinking about large scale historical changes in international relations, particularly the transformation from a world of empires to a world of sovereign states
• Demystifies theory, and treats it as an essential tool of analysis

   
International relations affects everyone's lives: their security, economic well-being, rights and freedoms, and the environment they share. Recently we have seen the transformation from a world of empires to today's world of sovereign states, which are enmeshed in a complex array of international institutions, all exercising degrees of political authority. The new global organization of political authority has far-reaching consequences.
     
This Very Short Introduction untangles this complex world, providing an accessible framework for understanding the contours of global political change. Christian Reus-Smit treats theory as an indispensable tool for grasping international relations, but demystifies theorizing, introducing it as an everyday human practice. He surveys a range of theories, from realism to feminism: reading them as contrasting perspectives on the global organization of political authority. Historically, such organization has been shaped by diverse social forces, four of which are discussed in detail: shifting patterns of warfare, changing economic conditions, struggles for rights, and the politics of culture. Reus-Smit concludes with a reflection on the future of international relations in an era of profound global change.