World Politics

World Politics: A Critical Introduction to International Relations offers an engaging and accessible exploration of critical theories in international relations. Drawing on a rich array of narratives and perspectives, it provides a systematic introduction to feminist, queer, decolonial, and other critical approaches.

The book examines how politics in the 20th and 21st centuries have been instrumental in creating, shaping, and perpetuating global hierarchies of power and status. It critically analyses how the Eurocentrism embedded in the international system is the result of deliberate, often violent, political actions aimed at establishing world order. These actions continue to influence daily lives and shape societies in profound ways.

Complete with practical examples, case studies, and vignettes, this textbook is an essential resource if you are looking to decolonise, feminise, and integrate a broader range of critical perspectives into your study of International Relations.

Instructors have access to a range of online materials that have been carefully curated to support their teaching, including a Teaching Guide, PowerPoints and a testbank.

Catherine Goetze is a Senior Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Tasmania, Australia.

Author Biography

Catherine Goetze is Senior Lecturer at the University of Tasmania in Australia. She has been an academic at universities in Germany, France, the UK, China and Australia. She speaks three languages and has lived on four continents. Her research spans questions of peace, migration, families in world politics, and feminist IR. She is editor of the Contemporary Reader of Feminist International Relations (2025, Routledge) and author of the monograph ‘The Distinction of Peace’ (2017, University of Michigan Press).