The concept of responsibility has emerged as central to the study of international politics. This book explores the integral role of responsibility within the context of global crises such as the responsibility to address climate change, manage financial crises, and intervene with political conflicts. Vetterlein and Hansen-Magnusson address responsibility as a conceptual tool in its own right, existing at the intersection of accountability and legitimacy and spanning across governance sectors of the environment, business, and security. This practice-based approach to the study of responsibility maps similarities and difference across policy fields and reveals the diverse moral actors responsible for negotiating responsibility. The emergence of responsibility further implicates underlying moral values and policy-making within the context of global politics. The Rise of Responsibility in World Politics addresses not only individual agency, but also how questions of community play a role in broader negotiations around the meaning of responsibility.

‘This impressive work shows the virtues of building understanding across divides: between theory and practice and across such varied topical areas as security, environment, and business. Through its original and thought-provoking chapters, the book shows how the idea of responsibility invokes the expectations communities have for appropriate behaviour – and why and how those expectations are regularly contested. The sum of the chapters provides significant insight into why responsibility is now a critical point of reference in international relations scholarship and beyond.'

Kathy Hochstetler - Professor of International Development, London School of Economics and Political Science

‘There has been burgeoning interest in recent years in the topic of responsibility in world politics. This book sets itself apart by looking at the ‘rise of responsibility' as a political process: one grounded in contestation, negotiation, agency, and practice. Within these pages, a world-class group of contributors identifies patterns across three global policy fields. This process ultimately adds up to something greater than the sum of its parts. Overall, this is an excellent edited book.'

David J Karp - Senior Lecturer in International Relations,University of Sussex