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Though it is possible to imagine ways of addressing the multiple crises the world will face as the atmosphere warms, seas rise, and pollutants seep into the surface of the planet, any serious proposal will require a degree of coordination amongst nation-states that has proven impossible to achieve in the past. In this course, we will consider this difficult situation by treating it as an instance of an old problem in political theory: how to escape the infamous “state of nature,” where individuals struggle to obtain the resources they need to survive at others’ expense, rather than cooperating to satisfy their needs and address the threats they face in common. First, we will study some influential reflections on the state of nature by Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Freud, and Pateman, as well as efforts to apply the logic of the state of nature to problems in international politics by Kant, Wendt, Waltz, Enloe, and others. Then we will read contemporary work on the international politics of climate change and ask what it would take to start building the better world that is possible today.