Power, Legitimacy, and World Order: Changing Contours of Preconditions and Perspectives

This book reflects on the reasons for the decline of international cooperation in world politics and studies ways to restore legitimacy in the international order. It engages with the concept of legitimacy in international relations theories and practices to examine the discussions around power shifts, the decline of liberalism, demands for inclusive international architectures, and challenges to multilateralism, as well as established norms by leaders and nationalisms. It studies the impact of the post-COVID-19 world order on the nature of power in the international system and changes in normative concerns of security. The volume also interrogates political legitimacy through an area studies lens by examining the concept of legitimacy separately in the USA, Europe, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Africa.

An important and timely text featuring contributions from eminent scholars, this book will be of use to students and researchers of modern history, political science, and international relations. It will also be of interest to think tanks and policy-making bodies concerned with international affairs and foreign policy.

Sanjay Pulipaka is the Chairperson of the Politeia Research Foundation. He was previously a Senior Fellow for Research Programmes and Strategic Neighbourhood at the Delhi Policy Group; Senior Fellow at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library; and Senior Consultant at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER). He was also a Pavate Visiting Fellow at Cambridge University and a former Fulbright Fellow in the Conflict Transformation Programme.

Krishnan Srinivasan is a former Indian Foreign Secretary and Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General. He has been a visiting fellow at Cambridge, Leiden, and Uppsala and has published or edited eight works on international relations.

James Mayall is Emeritus Professor of International Relations and Fellow of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, and Emeritus Professor of International Relations at the LSE. He is a Fellow of the British Academy. He has published widely on the international relations of African states, North–South relations, international theory, and the impact of nationalism on international relations.