This book examines the causes and consequences of the major shift in both domestic and international politics: the transition from sovereign and sovereign sovereignty to legitimate national sovereignty. The influence of the Enlightenment on politics in Europe and the United States analyzes the 18th century and shows how this discourse facilitated new power conflicts in the old system of Europe, the shape of the American and French revolutions, and the impact on relations between revolutionary and international regimes.

the system. The interaction between traditional and democratic ideas on legitimacy transformed the international system by the early nineteenth century, when people began to take for granted the desirability of equality, individual rights and self-control.

Using a historically sensitive interpretive approach to international relations, the author considers the complex interaction between elites on political legitimacy and strategic conflicts over power within and between nations. It shows how culture, forces and interests reacted to a critical but incomprehensible situation of international change.

The book not only shows the limits of the liberal and realistic theories of international relations, but also illustrates how these aspects can be combined with visions derived from a constructivist perspective that takes culture and legitimacy seriously. The author argues that cultural competitions on the terms of political legitimacy constitute one of the central mechanisms in which the character of sovereignty in the international system changes - a correct conclusion today as it was in the eighteenth century..

I want that book.