Global Society and International Relations - Martin Shaw

The debate about globalization is increasingly central to both sociology and international politics, but there have been few attempts to consider its implications for the essential frameworks of the disciplines. In this pathbreaking book, Martin Shaw places the concept of global society at the centre of analysis. He argues that this is now the only context in which it makes sense to talk about a society, or in which to discuss problems of "international relations".
Shaw examines the recent sociological contribution to international relations thinking about the state and offers a broad critique of international relations theory. He claims that, while its issue agenda may have broadened, its conceptual base is still narrow. He argues for a comprehensive introduction of the concept of society into thinking about security, and that global society rather than international society is the relevant framework for understanding world politics.
The final section of the book looks at the political perspectives which are entailed by a global society approach. Shaw maintains that classical socialist thinking on war and the international order is outmoded. He puts the case for a new politics of society and international institutions, and concludes with a wide–ranging theory of global state intervention.