This edition retains the three major thrusts of the original edition. First, it gives students in an introductory course in world politics a basic understanding of the history of the international system from the First World War up to the present. Second, it helps readers understand the current issues and crises in the global political system that are likely to have the greatest impact on the future. Finally, it demonstrates to students the possibility of developing generalizations about and discovering patterns in the foreign policies of states, the behavior of other important political entities (such as multinational corporations or terrorist groups) and the operation of the global system.