This book engages contemporary research in the neurobiology of consciousness, specifically how Integrated Information Theory (IIT) understands and models consciousness as an emergent phenomenon. In a thorough yet accessible discussion of IIT, the book explores the implications of IIT for social science and International Relations theory, particularly concerning the emergent nature of social and political systems. It is intended to be accessible to non-specialists and professional social scientists alike. The idea is to put forward a bold set of ideas that engage longstanding and contemporary debates in a format that is useful to scholars while remaining clear and cogent enough for the novice. The author’s intention is to balance the scholarly in an accessible way primarily by making a few focused scholarly points elaborated with minimal esoteric language and relying on endnotes.

Derick Becker is Assistant Professor in the School of Politics, History and International Relations at the University of Nottingham in Malaysia.