Our political order is in flux, perhaps in crisis, and possibly even in peril and that not only here and there but globally so, not only in unstable regions but equally in the most settled states. The signs are easily recognizable. The world’s population, now at 7.2 billion, is set to rise quickly by another 50 percent. This growth, unevenly distributed across continents, is bound to create new poverty, new needs, and new political demands, plausibly also large-scale migrations and perhaps even war. In its course, traditional structures, values, and understandings are quickly dissolving. At the same time, technological change is not letting up, affecting economic, military, and political power in unpredictable ways. Environmental degradation remains also uncontained: the pollution of the air, the earth, and the sea proceed afoot and these affect lives, living spaces, and resources in ways that burden the political sphere. We see the economic weight between developed and developing countries shifting with consequences for global power relations. What adds further weight to all this is that we are also affected by increasing confusion about the nature and meaning of politics. We are uncertain about what to ask from politics – expecting too much of it or too little. We are equally uncertain about what it demands from us, what sort of commitment it calls for. It appears that our concept and conception of politics have lost their mooring.