If we were to compare the Modem World with the earlier world that it replaced, following contrasts become apparent:

i)The pre-modern societies were diverse and disparate. They were either not connected with each other or were only loosely connected through trade. Modem World by contrast is fully integrated and internally connected.

ii)Compared to previous societies, Modem World is also very homogenous. The political and social institutions, prevalent in different societies of Modem World, are much more of a similar kind.

iii)Modern World is also much more hierarchical and vertically organized. It is dominated by super powers, drawn initially from Europe but later also from North America. Often the nature of super power changed but not the fact of domination. They also introduced new sources of domination such as imperialism (bringing these countries under their political control, either directly or indirectly) and colonialism (dominating and exploiting the economies of these countries in a manner that helped their own economies)

iv)In the pre-modern times there was a variety of political formations , including large empires (Holy Roman Empire, Ottoman Empire, Maurya and Mughal Empires in India), small city-states, small kingdoms, autonomous tribal formations. In the Modem World, by contrast, very similar types of political structures proliferate. These may be identified as nation-states (externally sovereign and internally representative political units characterized by cultural homogeneity). Some of these nation-states are big and some small; some are weak and some powerful, but they more or less resemble each other in their internal attributes.