International Politics in Times of Change

There is every indication that the international system is undergoing a period of significant transformation. The substantially higher growth rates of the emerging-market economies in comparison with those of the developed economies are changing the global distribution of power. Studies project that if economic trends are not reversed in the coming years, China will surpass the US and become the world's largest economy, India will emerge in Japan's place as the third-largest economy and Brazil will outpace Germany as the fifth-largest. This book underscores the complexity of forecasting international politics and proceeds cautiously to investigate the questions of change and continuity, examining several actors with respect to multiple issues and across different levels of analysis. Taken as a whole, this collection of essays offers a series of snapshots of different aspects, and from varying angles, of an international system in motion.

Nikolaos Tzifakis is Lecturer in International Relations in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Peloponnese, and Research Associate at the Centre for European Studies in Brussels. He is a graduate of the Department of Political Science and International Studies of Panteion University of Athens (1996), and holds an MA with distinction in International Relations and Strategic Studies (1997) and a PhD in International Relations from Lancaster University, UK (2002). His research interests include contemporary developments in the Balkans, EU external policies and international relations theory. In 2008, he was awarded the Marcel Cadieux Distinguished Writing Award for his co-authored article with Professor Asteris Huliaras in International Journal. Tzifakis has served as Deputy Director-General (December 2009-January 2011) and, previously, as Head of the International Cooperation Department (December 2007-December 2009) at the Konstantinos Karamanlis Institute for Democracy.