"In Leading Questions, Robert Pahre develops a series of formal models to determine under what conditions leadership will be beneficial or harmful for the international political economy."--BOOK JACKET.

"Pahre's findings challenge conventional wisdom on international leadership. He finds that a leading state harms others when it has many allies, but strengthens the international political economy when it lacks allies. Moreover, though leaders are less likely to engage in international cooperation than are other states, having a leader in the system makes cooperation among follower states more likely.

Conversely, cooperation by others may cause a leading state to join a system of multilateral cooperation."--BOOK JACKET. "By challenging the conventional interpretations of political economy in several historical periods, Leading Questions will be of interest not only to political scientists but also to economists and historians."--BOOK JACKET.