ABSTRACT
Classic works in International Relations (IR) can emerge in a variety of ways. Some classics introduce a new paradigm that explains complex phenomena better than previous efforts. Others revive neglected but important ideas and claims. Still others hit the tenor of the times and speak to immediate challenges facing global politics. Robert O. Keohane and Joseph S. Nye's Power and Interdependence (PI), first published in 1977, is indeed a classic for all of these reasons. 2 Unlike some of the works discussed in this volume, Keohane and Nye's work was promptly hailed as a classic. Two of the leading IR journals published article-length reviews of PI shortly after its publication. In International Organization, Kal Holsti surmised that this book may ‘prove to be one of the most significant writings in international relations theory of the past two decades’. 3 In an extensive review published in World Politics, Stanley Michalak referred to PI as ‘a groundbreaking work … that will have a long-term impact on the ways in which teachers and scholars conceptualize international phenomena’. 4 Both of these reviewers were prescient. The themes and puzzles presented in PI continue to shape our thinking on globalization, international trade, regime formation and change, non-state actors as well as the nature of power and military force in the global realm.
