A world government capable of controlling nation-states has never evolved. Nonetheless, considerable governance underlies the current order among states, facilitates absorption of the rapid changes at work in the world, and that direction to the challenges posed by interstate conflicts, environmental pollution, currency crises, and the many other problems to which an ever expanding global interdependence gives rise. In this study, nine leading international relations specialists examine the central features of this governance without government. They explore its ideological bases, behavioural patterns, and institutional arrangements as well as the pervasive changes presently at work within and among states. Within this context of change and order, the authors consider the role of the Concert of Europe and the pillars of the Westphalian system, the effectiveness of international institutions and regulatory mechanisms, the European Community and the micro-underpinnings of macro- governance practices.
