Chapter 2 key concepts

The Evolution of Global Politics

Learning objectives

This chapter introduces you to the essentials of world history that the authors believe you need to understand the contemporary world.
As you will see, this history is narrowly focused on the origins of the European-style political economic system. This is not to suggest that other such systems did not exist in Africa, Asia, or the Americas.
The authors think that you need to learn the fundamentals of how it was that people in one part of the world managed to expand their way of doing business until it came to dominate the globe. As this chapter demonstrates, this was an often-violent process.
The processes and events of this chapter, from the Peace of Westphalia to the Global War on Terror, provide the background for how globalization has influenced international relations up to today.

Key concepts and terms