Theory of Unipolar Politics

Nuno P. Monteiro is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Yale University, where he teaches international relations theory and security studies. Dr Monteiro's research focuses on great power politics, power transitions, nuclear proliferation, the causes of war, and deterrence theory. His articles have appeared in International Organization, International Security and International Theory. Dr Monteiro's commentary on these and other topics has appeared in The Guardian, Foreign Affairs, The National Interest, and Project Syndicate, among other outlets. He is a research fellow at Yale's Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies and a member of the Scientific Council of the Portuguese International Relations Institute.

• 1. Introduction; 2. Conceptualizing unipolarity; 3. The scope of unipolar strategic choice; 4. The sources of competition under unipolarity; 5. Competition in the post-Cold War; 6. The sources of conflict under unipolarity; 7. Conflict in the post-Cold War; 8. Conclusion.

'Theory of Unipolar Politics is a signal contribution to the scholarship on the nature and functioning of today's international system. Conceptually bold and smoothly and carefully written, it takes on central questions of the day with arguments and evidence that even skeptics have to confront. Long after dozens of speedily written tomes about contemporary rise-and-decline dynamics are forgotten, Monteiro's book will continue to shape scholarly inquiry.' William C. Wohlforth, Daniel Webster Professor of Government, Dartmouth College