Rule-based global order remains a central object of study in International Relations. Constructivists have identified a number of mechanisms by which actors accomplish both the continuous reproduction and transformation of the rules, institutions, and regimes that constitute their worlds. However, it is less clear how these mechanisms relate to each other–that is, the "rules for changing the rules". This book seeks to explain how political actors know how to change, interpret, and apply the rules that comprise rule-based global order. It argues that actors in world politics are simultaneously engaged in an ongoing social practice of rule-making, interpretation and application.

基于规则的全球秩序仍然是国际关系中的一个核心研究对象。建构主义者已经确定了一些机制，行为者通过这些机制完成对构成其世界的规则、机构和制度的持续复制和改造。然而，这些机制之间的关系--即 "改变规则的规则"--却不太清楚。本书试图解释政治行为体如何知道如何改变、解释和应用构成基于规则的全球秩序的规则。它认为，世界政治中的行为者同时参与了一个持续的规则制定、解释和应用的社会实践。