Morten Ougaard provides a new and distinct theoretical perspective to the analysis of the globalization of politics. The book analyzes global governance as the partial and uneven globalization of different aspects of statehood. It focuses on the institutional infrastructure, highlighting the role of the G7/OECD nexus in providing strategic leadership; discusses an emerging global function of societal persistence or public goods; governance and relations of power between social forces; and finally it discusses American hegemonic leadership in the light of the dual power/persistence perspective.

Introduction General Theoretical Issues The Structuration of World Society Concepts of State: Aspects of Statehood The Institutional Infrastructure of Global Governance The Function of Persistence The Persistence Function in Contemporary World Society Power Relations in the Global Polity The Trajectory of Hegemonic Leadership Conclusion Bibliography Index

MORTEN OUGAARD is Senior Associate Professor in International Political Economy at the Copenhagen Business School and currently Director of the Programme in Intercultural Management. He has published several books and numerous articles in Danish and international scholarly journals. Recently he co-edited the book Towards a Global Polity with Richard Higgott.