Global cities are an inscription of the ideals of a market society in space, constructed and defended at the level of international society. They embody the ascendance of a set of liberal principles at a certain moment in history - a moment related to the hegemonic status of leading states in the
second half of the twentieth century, and the ability of those states to shape international norms. But the evolution of these urban forms has also reflected the tendency for deregulated markets to generate inequality and polarisation: these features are also inscribed in the spaces of global
cities. Global cities focus and amplify the tensions and contradictions within the contemporary international system, and become key strategic sites for struggles over social justice and the character of political life in the twenty-first century.

Global Cities and Global Order demonstrates the significance of the re-emergence of cities from the long shadow of the nation-state is far-reaching. Only by examining the mechanisms by which cities have become empowered in the last few decades can we understand their new functions and capabilities
in global politics.