The contributors analyse how the components of state sovereignty are socially constructed and combined in specific historical contexts.

1. The social construction of state sovereignty Thomas J. Biersteker and Cynthia Weber; 2. Contested sovereignty: the social construction of colonial imperialism David Strang; 3. Beyond the sovereignty dilemma: quasi-states as social construct Naeem Inayatullah; 4. The sovereign state system as political-territorial ideal: historical and contemporary considerations Alexander Murphy; 5. Sovereignty and the nation: constructing the boundaries of national identity Roxanne Lynn Doty; 6. Sovereignty, nationalism and regional order in the Arab states system Michael Barnett; 7. Popular sovereigns, bound states: the practices, structures and geopolitics of Philadelphian systems Daniel Deudney; 8. Hierarchy under anarchy: informal empire and the East German state Alexander Wendt and Daniel Friedheim; 9. Reconstructing the analysis of sovereignty; concluding reflections and directions for future research Cynthia Weber and Thomas J. Biersteker.