ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on four central themes. First, it examines the changing nature of the state as an actor on the world stage, especially the relationships between states, governments and societies. Second, it examines shifts in the position of the state as a participant in world politics, and the changing notions of international ‘actorness’ that this implies. Third, it assesses the consequential shifts in relationships between states, societies and a range of non-state political forces. Finally, it evaluates the impact of these developments on ideas of the international system, in particular the notion of a ‘mixed actor system’ in which new actors, structures, patterns and rules have emerged.
