The authors try to understand what international relations would look like in a future world of multipolarity, that is, a relatively equal division of power among several large states (or power blocs like the European Community). Evaluating earlier historical periods of multipolarity, they consider whether such a world would be more or less stable, how alliances would work and what impact international norms would have. The book presents the different possibilities of order (or disorder) in a systematic and balanced way that would make it quite useful as a teaching tool in courses on international relations.