Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents : Part one : Revolutions in sovereignty : Introduction : revolutions in sovereignty -- The constitution of international society -- A brief history of constitutions of international society in the west -- How revolutions in ideas bring revolutions in sovereignty -- Part two
: The founding of the sovereign states system at Westphalia : Westphalia as origin -- The origin of Westphalia -- The power of protestant propositions -- Part three : The revolution of colonial independence : the global expansion of Westphalia : Ideas and the end of empire -- The end of the British empire : crashing out the promise of self-government -- Revolutionary idea in the British colonies -- Britain's burden of empire -- The fall of greater France -- Part four : The revolutions considered together : Conclusion : two revolutions, one movement.