Today, George E. Gordon Catlin is an outstanding figure in international politics, working at close range with the most important problems of our time. He is one of the architects of the modern British Labour Party, a champion of Indian independence, a leader in the field of peace research, a staunch supporter of closer Anglo-American relations, and a founder of contemporary quantitative political science. His perceptive, often controversial writings are enhanced not only by years of practical political experience but by a refreshing wit and candor.

In this hard-headed book Catlin charts a course that will enable nations to wage peace as vigorously as they formerly waged war. He examines the basic structure of modern politics and presents a systematic, scientific analysis of the causes of war. Catlin questions whether or not the national state has become obsolete and traces its development from the 17th century to the present. He emphasizes the limitations of the contemporary national state as an effective tool for solving political and social problems in the Nuclear Age.

In simple, straightforward language, Catlin also discusses such subjects as coexistence, the Western Alliance, modern democratic education, the relations of church and state, and the possibility of creating a true world authority, competent to preserve peace. He presents an objective and almost Hobbesian view of the problems confronting modern man, and points the way toward future world peace and social justice.