After providing an overview of the various postmodern and poststructuralist theories that have infiltrated the field of international relations, Jarvis (government and international relations, U. of Sydney, Australia) argues that because of the "Third Debate", theory in this discipline has become too abstract and unrelated to the subject matter, leaving international relations' theoretical understanding of global political relations weak and disconnected with reality.

Regulation of public infrastructure has been a topic of interest for more than a century. Providing public goods, securing their financing, maintenance, and improving the efficiency of their delivery, has generated a voluminous literature and series of debates. More recently, these issues have again become a central concern, as new public management approaches have transformed the role of the state in the provision of public goods and the modalities by which the financing of infrastructure and its operation are procured. Yet, despite the proliferation of new modalities of regulating...

Economic growth continues to transform the economic and political landscape of Asia. Equally the policies now being adopted to promote private sector participation, re-structure state entities, and reduce the presence of the state in the provision of public goods and services, are tied to fundamental transformations in Asia's state-society relations. The global cast of contributors present a timely analysis of the impact of neo-liberalism on Asia's developmental policies and the organisation of Asian states and markets. Ironically, the "developmental state" that has historically driven Asia's...