This book investigates how the concept of the 'planetary' is utilized to frame and manage global crises through the lens of technopolitics and international security. Columba Peoples, a scholar in international relations and security studies, examines the intersection of crisis management and technological intervention. The author argues that the framing of planetary-scale threats often prioritizes specific sociotechnical solutions that reinforce existing power structures while limiting the scope of political imagination regarding global insecurity.

Scholars in the field of critical security studies identify this work as a rigorous examination of how technocratic language influences global governance. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which is intended for researchers and students of international relations and political theory.