This is a major revision of our successful introduction to International Relations. The authors seek to bridge the gap between academic theory and applied concepts by continuing to develop the book’s theme: that the complex relationships between the world’s state and non-state players must be understood before one can make intelligent judgments about international affairs. In this way, the book readily appeals to students in many related majors. In this edition, Pearson and Rochester infuse the entire book with a post-Cold War frame of reference. The growing diffusion of power, the growing fluidity of alignments all represent current key trends that are discussed in this edition.