This volume considers how we arrived at this historical and institutional expression of political community.This volume gathers together a group of leading academics to consider one of the biggest questions of our time, namely, how did we arrive at this historical and institutional expression of political community? And what alternative future world orders exist? The scope of this volume is broad. It includes conventional accounts of the development of the European states system. Other essays consider the non-European experience: in particular, the question how and why a states system triumphed over other forms of political organisation.This volume gathers together a group of leading academics to consider one of the biggest questions of our time, namely, how did we arrive at this historical and institutional expression of political community? And what alternative future world orders exist? The scope of this volume is broad. It includes conventional accounts of the development of the European states system. Other essays consider the non-European experience: in particular, the question how and why a states system triumphed over other forms of political organisation.A group of leading academics considers how the European states system developed as the historical and institutional expression of political community. The scope of this volume is broad, including conventional accounts of the development of the European states system as well as the non-European experience. In particular, it inquires as to how and why a states system triumphed over other forms of political organization.Foreword Richard Little; Introduction Michael Cox, Tim Dunne and Ken Booth; 1. Rethinking the sovereign state model Stephen D. Krasner; 2. System, empire and state in Chinese international relations Yongjin Zhang; 3. The rise of the state system in Africa Carolyn M. Warner; 4. Between anarchy and tyranny: excellence and the pursuit of power and peace in ancient Greece Nany Kokaz; 5. Before sovelsß