International Relations and World Politics introduces the issues in an organized and comprehensible way, examining them in relation to two trends; three broad, organizing themes or concepts; key actors; and three basic images or perspectives that provide structure for the pages that follow:

* Two trends-increasing globalization and crises of authority-that characterize international relations and world politics

* Key organizing themes or concepts-in particular, security, economy, and identity that structure the three major sections of the book

* Key actors-states, international organizations, and transnational organizations and movements (such as nongovernmental organizations, multinational corporations, and terrorist groups)

* Three basic images or perspectives on world politics-realism, liberalism (or pluralism as it is frequently called), and global economic structuralism (which includes Marxism, world-systems, and dependency theory) supplemented by references to other theoretical and conceptual understandings mentioned below

Paul R. Viotti and Mark V. Kauppi wrote this book because they believe it is possible and essential to improve a student's conceptual and theoretical thinking about international relations. If one does not think conceptually, a course in world politics threatens to become little more than current events. Hence, they structured the book in such a way that key concepts, themes, and trends are utilized throughout the discussion of various topics.