{"product_id":"after-nations-the-making-and-unmaking-of-a-world-order-9780008639754","title":"After Nations: The Making and Unmaking of a World Order","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'The twenty-first century’s counterpart to Hobbes’s \u003cem\u003eLeviathan\u003c\/em\u003e.’ EMMANUELE COCCIA\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat has happened to the nation-state? From a prizewinning writer, \u003cem\u003eAfter Nations\u003c\/em\u003e offers a sweeping history of this most unquestioned of modern structures and a bold speculation about its future.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003eUntil recently, the system of nation-states appeared settled and eternal. Not anymore. As American hegemony unwinds and Western countries slide into anxiety and debt, there is a resurgence of tyranny, imperialism and war. It is no longer clear that states can continue delivering ‘normal’ services, let alone defeat inequality and climate change. Even in rich countries, many feel they are being progressively neglected; in some parts of the world, populations are entirely abandoned by nation-states and must build systems of their own.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRana Dasgupta traces the formation and rise of the nation-state system to explain its multiple failures today. He takes us from the fall of ancient empires and the expansion of European concepts of money and law right up to the emergence of twenty-first-century tech firms – the first significant new geopolitical actors to emerge since the inception of nation-states – and the epochal restoration of Chinese power. He posits that the time has come to develop a new conception of citizenship, law, and economy—one that corresponds to our globalized and ecologically fragile condition.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRichly detailed, urgent and told with remarkable clarity, \u003cem\u003eAfter Nations\u003c\/em\u003e is an essential text for anyone looking to understand why we seem to be losing our political hold on the world, and how we might try to restore it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eDetails\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003eISBN13: 9780008639754\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFormat: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNumber of Pages: 496\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEdition: \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication Date: 30 Jul 2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublisher: \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication City, Country: London, United Kingdom\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDimensions (cm): 23.4(H)x15.3(L)x4.2(W)600\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWeight (gm): 600\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h4\u003eRana Dasgupta was born in 1971, and grew up in Cambridge. He worked for a marketing consultancy in London and New York for a few years before moving to Delhi to write. His first novel, ‘Tokyo Cancelled’, a thirteen-part story cycle, was published in 2005 to widespread acclaim and has been translated into nine languages.  Dasgupta now lives permanently in Delhi, and writes for several periodicals, including the Guardian, New Statesman and BBC radio.\u003ch4\u003eReviews\u003c\/h4\u003e‘Simply astonishing […] Dasgupta is consistently insightful, thought-provoking, and on point. Above all, this book is a call to rediscover our species’ most basic and important form of freedom: to create new social worlds and alternative political realities.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDavid Wengrow, co-author of \u003cem\u003eThe Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity\u003c\/em\u003e, and Professor of Comparative Archaeology at UCL\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Dasgupta’s book is a timely one. He is right to insist that the ‘nation-state is not natural or immutable’'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e             \u003cem\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/em\u003e           \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘Dasgupta has given us the new political breviary of our century. It is the most incisive, urgent, and necessary reflection on political philosophy I have read in decades – the first in a very long time that does not leave me with a sense of despair, but instead fills me with profound hope. A new classic, the twenty-first century’s counterpart to Hobbes’s \u003cem\u003eLeviathan\u003c\/em\u003e.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEmanuele Coccia, author of \u003cem\u003eThe Life of Plants\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003ePhilosophy of the Home\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'\u003cem\u003eAfter Nations\u003c\/em\u003e is an innovative and erudite historical reflection on our contemporary crisis […] His book boldly sketches out a vision for what might come After Nations.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePratap Bhanu Mehta, Political Scientist \u0026amp; Princeton University Lecturer\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘An essential, eye-opening account […] it is our ignorance which makes this book so important.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBryan Appleyard, \u003cem\u003eEngelsberg Ideas\u003c\/em\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A must-read for anyone with a deep interest in international politics, the future of the world, and how different systems of governance evolved in major regions over the past few hundred years.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e             \u003cem\u003eIndian Express\u003c\/em\u003e           \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A brilliant study … Combining deep history with soaring speculative insight, this is a by turns dire and thrilling vision of the future\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e             \u003cem\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/em\u003e           \u003c\/strong\u003e","brand":"Rana Dasgupta","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49041659068633,"sku":"9780008639754","price":39.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0502\/9530\/8441\/files\/9780008639754.jpg?v=1785937165","url":"https:\/\/www.arielbooks.com.au\/products\/after-nations-the-making-and-unmaking-of-a-world-order-9780008639754","provider":"Ariel","version":"1.0","type":"link"}