This volume is made up a series of occasional pieces which I have written since 9/11. They explore the impact of this calamitous event on global politics and the many ramifications it has had over time. They try to understand how these developments intersect, and sometime collide, with other events and trends, such as the global financial crisis and the Arab Spring, and they ask what sense we can and should make of them.

Many of these short articles were co-authored with friends and close colleagues. When this is the case, they are mentioned on the first page of each essay, as is the date of their first publication. In this connection, I am deeply indebted to Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Tom Hale, Kevin Young, Charles Roger and Kyle McNally. Each one of them has been much more than a co-author; they are interlocutors who have helped shape my thinking and writing over these past years. Without Kristian my writing on the Arab world since 9/11 would lack deep and specific knowledge; without Tom and Kevin the work on gridlock would never have been elaborated systematically; without Charlie I would not have pursued detailed thinking on climate change, and without Kyle, who has worked with me on many projects, many of the most recent pieces would never have been completed. In working together, we have developed the strongest bonds.

I have collaborated with three editors who have encouraged my interventions: Rosemary Bechler of openDemocracy; Henning Meyer of Social Europe; and Eva-Maria Nag of Global Policy. I am indebted to them all for their critical reflections and advice. I would also like to thank Eva-Maria Nag, Tom Kirk, and Mark Shaw for their editorial support in the publication of this e-book.

Part I: The 9/11 Wars and the Arab Spring

1. Violence and Justice in a Global Age
2. Return to the state of nature
3. The End of the American Century: 9/11 Ten Years On
4. The Arab 1989?
5. The Arab 1989 Revisited
6. Wars of Decline: Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya
7. The Arab Spring and the Changing Balance of Global Power
8. Democracy, Syria and the western way of war
9. Red lines and dangerous incoherence: Syria and the international community
10. 9/11 Wars: A Reckoning
11. The Vicious Cycle of Pitiless Violence
12. Reflections on Intervention in the 21st Century

Part II: The Failure of Western Politics

13. Global Challenges: Accountability and Effectiveness
14. The Decline of the West? The Future of Global Governance in the Face of the Rise of Asia
15. Gridlock: The Growing Breakdown of Global Cooperation
16. Global Financial Cooperation Buckling under the Weight of Previous Success
17. Global Financial Governance: Principles of Reform
18. Is the WTO deal good news for multilateralism?
19. The Syrian Crisis and Gridlock of Global Security Governance
20. European and Global Gridlock: Parallel Barriers to Effective Governance
21. Climate Change, Migration and the Cosmopolitan Dilemma
22. Climate Leadership in the Developing World
23. Europe, the European Union and European Identity
24. To be, or not to be: Europe Under Siege
25. The Brexit Dead End
26. Britain, Riding the Tectonic Plates

Afterword: Can Western Politics be Revitalised?

27. Path to Authoritarianism: The Collapse of the Politics of Accommodation
28. Gold Plated Populism: Trump and the End of the Liberal Order
29. The Changing Face of Global Governance
30. Stepping Stones to a Cosmopolitan Order