Synopsis International Politics has entered a period of profound unsettling change. It is driven by discord, cultural diversity, economic inequality and political fragmentation. Revolution in information technology, globalization of world economy, transformation in Eastern Europe, new axes of conflict and alignment suggest that the world is on the edge of a new historical epoch. Our lives are increasingly influenced by activities and events happening away from the social context in which we carry on our day-to-day activities and emerging trends and patterns of interaction in global politics reveal the complexity of the contemporary international political order.