Ian Clark was educated at Glasgow University and Australian National University. He is currently Professor of International Politics at Aberystwyth. A Fellow of the British Academy, he is the author of several books from OUP including Legitimacy in International Society, The Post-Cold War Order, Globalization and the Theory of International Relations; and Globalization and Fragmentation.

"Ian Clark's International Legitimacy and World Society (2007) is an ambitious and quite successful attempt to answer questions that were raised but left open in his Legitimacy in International Society (2005).... [It is] clearly written and organized, informed and fascinating in historical details, and methodologically cautious in the articulation of its findings."--Law and Politics Book Review

"Clark expands understanding of international legitimacy, explains the role and significance of international norms, and clarifies understanding of the historical evolution of international legitimacy. Throughout the book, Clark raises important historical questions about how principled ideas such as ending the slave trade, addressing the issue of racial equality, establishing social justice, promoting human rights, and spreading democracy around the world came to be established within international society."--CHOICE

"Ian Clark's International Legitimacy and World Society is an ambitious companion to his Legitimacy in International Society (2005)... This volume builds on that insight, adding the puzzling notion that international society increasingly adopts norms that seem to undermine the states system, especially norms that privilege individuals... The book has much to recommend it...[and is] an important contribution indeed."--Ethics & International Affairs

"A terrific book...a useful addition to the collection of anyone grappling with how the citizen plays a role in shaping state practice, international law, and international legitimacy."--American Journal of International Law