This book is about some of the most important problems confronting social scientists who study institutions and institutional change. It is also about globalization, particularly the frequent claim that globalization is transforming national political and economic institutions as never before.

The study of international relations now goes well beyond state-to-state politics and even regional politics. Technological forces are working their effects on the world as a whole, bringing state and non-state actors into contact with one another. Globalization, Institutions and Governance provides students with a sophisticated and engaging exploration of the often differing impacts of these technological forces and the wider implications of globalization for theories of global governance and the role of international institutions. This title is part of the SAGE Series on the Foundations of International Relations. This series fills the gap between narrowly-focused research monographs and broad introductory texts, providing graduate students with state-of-the-art, critical overviews of the key sub-fields within International Relations: International Political Economy, International Security, Foreign Policy Analysis, International Organization, Normative IR Theory, International Environmental Politics, Globalization, and IR Theory. Explicitly designed to further the transatlantic dialogue fostered by publications such as the SAGE Handbook of International Relations, the series is written by renowned scholars drawn from North America, continental Europe and the UK. The books are intended as core texts on advanced courses in IR, taking students beyond the basics and into the heart of the debates within each field, encouraging an independent, critical approach and signposting further avenues of research. Series Editors: Walter Carlsnaes Uppsala University, Sweden Jeffrey T. Checkel Simon Fraser University, Canada International Advisory Board: Peter J. Katzenstein Cornell University, USA; Emanuel Adler University of Toronto, Canada; Martha Finnemore George Washington University, USA; Andrew Hurrell Oxford University, UK; G. John Ikenberry Princeton University, USA; Beth Simmons Harvard University, USA; Steve Smith University of Exeter, UK; Michael Zuern Hertie School of Governance, Berlin, Germany.

Identifies the major weaknesses in the current United Nations system and proposes fundamental reforms to address each. This title is also available as Open Access.

In an increasingly globalised world, it is becoming ever more difficult for nation states to adapt to the international consequences of market failures, government failures and global externalities without co-operation and co-ordination with other countries. In the absence of any form of world government, the most effective solution to this problem is either to create new international institutions, reform existing ones or work within the prevailing institutional framework.

Why are some developing countries more willing or able to take care of their environment than others? In this volume, Gabriele Spilker proposes two factors for the differences in developing countries' environmental performance: integration into the international system and domestic political institutions. Adding a new dimension to the existing body of research on environmental quality and commitment, Spilker convincingly demonstrates how international and domestic political factors interact to shape developing countries' ability and willingness to care for their natural environment.

Today’s most urgent problems are fundamentally global. They require nothing less than concerted, planetwide action if we are to secure a long-term future. But humanity’s story has always been on a global scale. In this book, Jeffrey D. Sachs, renowned economist and expert on sustainable development, turns to world history to shed light on how we can meet the challenges and opportunities of the twenty-first century. Sachs takes readers through a series of seven distinct waves of technological and institutional change, starting with the original settling of the planet by early modern humans through long-distance migration and ending with reflections on today’s globalization. Along the way, he considers how the interplay of geography, technology, and institutions influenced the Neolithic revolution; the role of the horse in the emergence of empires; the spread of large land-based empires in the classical age; the rise of global empires after the opening of sea routes from Europe to Asia and the Americas; and the industrial age. The dynamics of these past waves, Sachs demonstrates, offer fresh perspective on the ongoing processes taking place in our own time—a globalization based on digital technologies. Sachs emphasizes the need for new methods of international governance and cooperation to prevent conflicts and to achieve economic, social, and environmental objectives aligned with sustainable development. The Ages of Globalization is a vital book for all readers aiming to make sense of our rapidly changing world.

It is now more than fifty years since the United Nations system and the Bretton Woods institutions were created. The world has changed since then, and so have its governance needs in terms of institutions and rules. It is time to think about the contours of institutions and governance that would meet the needs of the world economy, and also polity, at least for the first quarter of the twenty-first century. This book is among the first to examine the subject in depth. The study is divided into four parts. The first situates the subject in the wider context of globalization which has shaped development in the world economy, affected the living conditions of people, and constrained the role of nation states. The international context and the national setting are explored. The second part analyses some issues of emerging significance in the contemporary world, such as global macroeconomic management, transnational corporations, international capital flows, and cross-border movements of people, to suggest that there are some missing institutions which are needed. The third part provides a critical evaluation of the existing institutions, in retrospect, with a focus on the UN, the IMF, the World Bank, and the WTO. It analyses how existing rules need to be modified or existing institutions need to be restructured to meet the present and future needs of global governance. The fourth part explores some important elements of governance which are critical for any vision of the future. It suggests some changes in existing institutions and points to emerging governance needs where new institutions may have to be created. This authoritative volume will be of value to readers with an interest in international economics, development economics, and international relations. It will also be of value to practitioners, both policy-makers and diplomats, concerned with problems of global governance, and should become the standard reference on the subject.