Political Unification Revisited

Can independent nations unify politically? Amitai Etzioni raised this searching question in his seminal 1965 book <I>Political Unification: A Comparative Study of Leaders and Forces</I>. In this revised edition-now with an extensive new introduction-Etzioni convincingly argues that the experiment of collective self-determination is the only viable replacement for a perilously overloaded international system. This fascinating work debates the limitations of informal networks of governance transnational agencies and cross-nation bonding-including the grand experiment of the European Union-to argue that only a truly transcendent supranational community can effectively succeed the nation-state. <BR /><BR />He doubts whether the traditional system of international relations can withstand the threat of transnational forces. Old-fashioned diplomacy can neither prevent weapons of mass destruction and hate material moving easily across national borders nor deal with mass cross-border immigration in the wake of civil war and the rise of political and ethnic separatism. <I>Political Unification Revisited</I> is essential reading for political scientists and scholars of international law and international relations seeking to navigate the path from national sovereignty to world government in the 21st century..