After Nations
The Making and Unmaking of a World Order
Published on 26. February 2026
Book
Hardback
496 pages
978-0-00-863974-7 (ISBN)
Description
'The twenty-first century's counterpart to Hobbes's Leviathan.' EMMANUELE COCCIA
What has happened to the nation-state? From a prizewinning writer, After Nations offers a sweeping history of this most unquestioned of modern structures and a bold speculation about its future.
Until recently, the system of nation-states appeared settled and eternal. Not anymore. As American hegemony unwinds and Western countries slide into anxiety and debt, there is a resurgence of tyranny, imperialism and war. It is no longer clear that states can continue delivering 'normal' services, let alone defeat inequality and climate change. Even in rich countries, many feel they are being progressively neglected; in some parts of the world, populations are entirely abandoned by nation-states and must build systems of their own.
Rana Dasgupta traces the formation and rise of the nation-state system to explain its multiple failures today. He takes us from the fall of ancient empires and the expansion of European concepts of money and law right up to the emergence of twenty-first-century tech firms - the first significant new geopolitical actors to emerge since the inception of nation-states - and the epochal restoration of Chinese power. He posits that the time has come to develop a new conception of citizenship, law, and economy-one that corresponds to our globalized and ecologically fragile condition.
Richly detailed, urgent and told with remarkable clarity, After Nations is an essential text for anyone looking to understand why we seem to be losing our political hold on the world, and how we might try to restore it.
What has happened to the nation-state? From a prizewinning writer, After Nations offers a sweeping history of this most unquestioned of modern structures and a bold speculation about its future.
Until recently, the system of nation-states appeared settled and eternal. Not anymore. As American hegemony unwinds and Western countries slide into anxiety and debt, there is a resurgence of tyranny, imperialism and war. It is no longer clear that states can continue delivering 'normal' services, let alone defeat inequality and climate change. Even in rich countries, many feel they are being progressively neglected; in some parts of the world, populations are entirely abandoned by nation-states and must build systems of their own.
Rana Dasgupta traces the formation and rise of the nation-state system to explain its multiple failures today. He takes us from the fall of ancient empires and the expansion of European concepts of money and law right up to the emergence of twenty-first-century tech firms - the first significant new geopolitical actors to emerge since the inception of nation-states - and the epochal restoration of Chinese power. He posits that the time has come to develop a new conception of citizenship, law, and economy-one that corresponds to our globalized and ecologically fragile condition.
Richly detailed, urgent and told with remarkable clarity, After Nations is an essential text for anyone looking to understand why we seem to be losing our political hold on the world, and how we might try to restore it.
Reviews / Votes
'Simply astonishing [...] Dasgupta is consistently insightful, thought-provoking, and on point. Above all, this book is a call to rediscover our species' most basic and important form of freedom: to create new social worlds and alternative political realities.' David Wengrow, co-author of The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity, and Professor of Comparative Archaeology at UCL 'Dasgupta's book is a timely one. He is right to insist that the 'nation-state is not natural or immutable'' Financial Times 'Dasgupta has given us the new political breviary of our century. It is the most incisive, urgent, and necessary reflection on political philosophy I have read in decades - the first in a very long time that does not leave me with a sense of despair, but instead fills me with profound hope. A new classic, the twenty-first century's counterpart to Hobbes's Leviathan.' Emanuele Coccia, author of The Life of Plants and Philosophy of the Home 'After Nations is an innovative and erudite historical reflection on our contemporary crisis [...] His book boldly sketches out a vision for what might come After Nations.' Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Political Scientist & Princeton University Lecturer 'An essential, eye-opening account [...] it is our ignorance which makes this book so important.' Bryan Appleyard, Engelsberg Ideas 'A must-read for anyone with a deep interest in international politics, the future of the world, and how different systems of governance evolved in major regions over the past few hundred years.' Indian Express 'A brilliant study ... Combining deep history with soaring speculative insight, this is a by turns dire and thrilling vision of the future Publishers WeeklyMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers
Dimensions
Height: 241 mm
Width: 159 mm
Thickness: 43 mm
Weight
726 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-00-863974-7 (9780008639747)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
02/2026
William Collins
€20.99
Available for download
Person
Rana Dasgupta's previous books have received the Windham Campbell Prize, the Commonwealth Prize, and the Ryszard Kapuscinski Award. He taught for several years at Brown University; After Nations was written as a visiting scholar at Wolfson College, University of Oxford. He lives in France.