Global Community

How did the global community, both as an idea and as a reality, originate and develop over time? This text examines this concept by looking at the emergence, growth and activities of international organizations from the 19th century to the 21st. Akira Iriye, one of this country's most preeminent historians, proposes a significant rereading of the history of the past fifty years, suggesting that the central influence on the international scene in this period was not the Cold War, but rather a deepening web of international interactions. The first systematic study of international organizations by a historian, Global Community moves beyond the usual framework for studying international relations - politics, war, diplomacy, and other interstate affairs - as it traces the crucial role played by international organizations in determining the shape of the world today.