With The Making of an Atlantic Ruling Class, Kees van der Pijl put class formation at the heart of our understanding of world politics and the global economy. This landmark study dissects one of the most decisive phenomena of the twentieth century-the rise of an Atlantic ruling class of multinational banks and corporations. A new preface by the author evaluates the book's significance in the light of recent political and economic developments.

Kees van der Pijl is Professor of International Relations at the University of Sussex and the author of The Foreign Encounter in Myth and Religion; Nomads, Empires, States; Global Rivalries from the Cold War to Iraq; and Transnational Classes and International Relations.