Power in a Complex Global System

Can twenty-first century global challenges be met through the limited adaptation of existing political institutions and prevailing systemic norms, or is a more fundamental reconstitution of governing authority unavoidable? Are the stresses evident in domestic social compacts capable of undermining the fundamental policy capacity of contemporary governments? This book, inspired by the work of the distinguished scholar Peter J. Katzenstein, examines these important and pressing questions.

In a period of complex political transition, the authors combine original research and intensive dialogue to build on Katzenstein’s innovative insights. They highlight his seminal work on variations in domestic structures, on the role of ideologies of social partnership, on the regionally differentiated foundations of political legitimation, on diverse conceptions of "civilization," and on the idea and practice of power in a tenuous American imperium. Together, the chapters map the complex terrain upon which legitimate political authority and effective policy capacity will have to be reconstituted to address twenty-first-century global, regional and state-level challenges.

The book will be of great interest to students and scholars in international organization, global governance, foreign policy analysis, and comparative politics.

Louis W. Pauly is Chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto and has held the Canada Research Chair in Globalization and Governance since 2002. As Director of the Centre for International Studies from 2007–2011, he helped build what is now the Munk School of Global Affairs, where he remains a member of the faculty. Recent books include Global Ordering: Institutions and Autonomy in a Changing World, edited with William D. Coleman (2009) and Complex Sovereignty, edited with Edgar Grande (2007).

Bruce W. Jentleson is Professor of Public Policy and Political Science at Duke University where he previously served as Director of the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy. He has served in foreign policy positions in the Clinton and Obama administrations. Recent books include The End of Arrogance: America in the Global Competition of Ideas, with Steven Weber (2010) and American Foreign Policy: The Dynamics of Choice in the 21st Century (5th edition, 2013).