New dimensions of World politics / edited by Geoffrey L. Goodwin and Andrew Linklater

Traditionally, world politics has provided the stage on which the soldier and diplomat have taken the lead, their roles dictated by the interests of their political masters. Bankers, industrialists, scientists, even missionaries have lurked in the wings but have only rarely had more than walk-on parts. All this is changing, if the contributors to this book are to be believed.

In the first place, scientific and technological developments have helped to create new interdependencies among states, while the content of 'high politics' has expanded from the security realm to include not merely monetary, trade and aid matters but also the management and conservation of natural resources. In the second place, the world stage is now far more crowded, not only with more state actors but also with powerful multinational corporations and other transnational actors often vying successfully for the lead. The traditional perspectives of the soldier and diplomat with their preoccupation with the configurations of power no longer suffice. If we are to understand some of the most fundamental sources of change in contemporary world politics, and learn how to respond to them, we need to widen our perspectives and to have recourse to frames of reference beyond the actions of states.