Foreword Richard Little; Introduction Michael Cox, Tim Dunne and Ken Booth; 1. Rethinking the sovereign state model Stephen D. Krasner; 2. System, empire and state in Chinese international relations Yongjin Zhang; 3. The rise of the state system in Africa Carolyn M. Warner; 4. Between anarchy and tyranny: excellence and the pursuit of power and peace in ancient Greece Nany Kokaz; 5. Before sovereignty: society and politics in ancien régime Europe Andreas Osiander; 6. The eighteenth century international system: parity or primacy James R. Sofka; 7. The long nineteenth century in Europe: reinterpreting the concert system Hudson Meadwell; 8. American power and the empire of capitalist democracy G. John Ikenberry; 9. The Russian-Soviet empire: a test of neorealism William Wohlforth; 10. Another 'double movement': the great transformation after the Cold War Ian Clark; 11 Capitalism and world (dis)order Giovanni Arrighi and Beverley J. Silver; 12. Variation and change and transitions in international politics Robert Jervis.