Caught up in the globalist illusion of the 1990s, social theorists have heralded the coming of a new global age, in which international politics would be transformed beyond recognition by the trans-national integration of the world's economies and societies. "Beyond Globalization" clearly shows us that because so many of these myths have been shattered, and imperial power projection has eclipsed the anticipated multilateral system of global governance, it is necessary to re-conceptualize world order politics, and the relationship between politics and economics. In the light of this key realisation, Hannes Lacher presents a new critical social theory of international relations that integrates sociology, history and political geography to understand the formation and development of modern international relations. Far from implying a return to state-centrist Realism, this essential new volume leads us towards a critical social theory of international relations that questions the prevailing conceptions of the modern international political economy as a collection of nationally bounded spaces more fundamentally than ever before. It also shows us that capitalist modernity itself was, from the beginning, characterized by the dualism of global economic integration and the fragmentation of political space, which actually stems from the divergent origins of capitalism and territorial sovereignty. This book will be of great interest to al students of historical sociology, political geography, international relations and political science.