Lister traces the little known story of how the first confederal type unions sprang up in ancient Greece, and how they were revived in medieval and early modern times, not just in Switzerland and the Dutch Republic, but in New England's colonies of the 17th century.

Following an introduction in which the nature of confederal type governance is described, Lister examines the ancient Greek sympolities (the precursors of full-scale confederations), the Hanseatic League, the old Swiss Confederation, the Dutch Republic, and, finally, the United Colonies of New England. Each chapter closes with a series of conclusions regarding unions. Lister concludes the book with a summary of the achievements of the early confederations. This detailed synthesis of what is known of the little studied early confederations will be of primary interest to scholars and students of international relations, military history, and political theory.