ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on several important but controversial concepts and explores what different international relations theoretical perspectives would each likely highlight and possibly contribute to understanding of rising powers, global governance, and the relationship between the two. Rising powers evokes memories of late nineteenth- and twentieth-century German and Japanese challenges to the established European "order" and the grief that ultimately ensued. The global governance of trade is, of course, central to the world economy, and for many years now, the most important institution in this area has been the World Trade Organization (WTO). Late in 2013 the 159 WTO member states did reach a modest agreement on reducing bureaucratic red tape in customs procedures, but the era of sweeping global trade pacts currently does appear to have ended or at least has come to a dramatic pause. However, much more optimistic is the outlook for rising powers supporting the existing norms and institutions ordering the global economy.
