1 In February 2009 there was a significant presence, for the first time, of global cities theorists at the annual International Studies Association conference in New York. The panellists noted that this development represented some kind of breakthrough in crossing the disciplinary divide between the global cities literature and International Relations. However, it was apparent that the content of these panels failed to engage in any substantial way with the theoretical resources of IR. The discussion remained confined to the traditional theories and concepts developed in the global cities literature. One of the purposes of this article is to try to show some of the ways in which the theoretical resources of IR may be brought to bear upon the problem of global cities.

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