The most profound challenges confronting megacities that are critical for their stability and for that of the rest of the world

Globalization has changed the world by integrating economical, cultural, technological, and ecological developments in terms of growing interdependence, thus also generating new global challenges with strong effects on the local area as main origin. With cities appearing as new actors on the world stage “states have lost their monopoly over social, economic and political activity in their territory” (Van der Pluijm 2007, p. 8). The discipline of International Relations must take into account these new realities into future theorizing.