ABSTRACT
When people who study international relations are asked the same question about uncertainty, they try to be more objective. Even so, the concerns of their own state will shape what they think are the big issues. European academics are often fascinated by the European Union and wonder whether it represents a new way to conduct international relations—possibly even the future of international relations in general. States and others have committed themselves by international treaties to setting targets for their carbon emissions and shifting to environmentally sustainable economic practices. As a series of protests against globalization, old-fashioned dictatorships, and mass abuses of human rights around the world have made clear, people, as individuals and as groups, are engaged in international relations as never before. International relations in an era of uncertainty confront problems to which there are many solutions but few which are agreed upon and, thus, deliverable.
