State-centricity. G8 Summit Germany, 2007. A3471 Boris Roessler/Press Association. All rights reserved.In little more than a decade the American Century has come to a close. How did this come about and what has been the outcome in the international arena and in national societies? Are the international institutions established in the twentieth century still equipped to take on the global political, financial, and environmental crises that followed 9/11, an act of terror that was itself facilitated by globalisation? There is hardly a deficit of authorities on and opinions about these issues today.
That said, one of the most panoramic, as well as readable analyses of our time’s conundrums can be found in David Held’s recently published Global Politics After 9/11: Failed Wars, Political Fragmentation and the Rise of Authoritarianism (Wiley Blackwell, September 2016).
Held’s voice will sound familiar to many – as a professor of politics and international relations, public intellectual, and author/editor of more than 60 books on issues ranging from democratic theory to globalisation and cosmopolitanism, he has accompanied us for nearly four decades as we witness the changing political landscape.
