ABSTRACT
A prime purpose of a theoretical framework is to help create understanding by ordering facts and concepts into some meaningful pattern. This chapter explores the changes, especially in the post-cold War era. In this endeavour, it seeks to develop an understanding of the causal dynamics of international systemic transition. The principal entities or actors are states, although other actors of transnational nature may also play important roles under certain sets of circumstances. International relations continue to be a recurring struggle for power and wealth among independent actors in an anarchic society. Every international system is characterized by various types of interactions among its constituent elements. The nature, regularity, and intensity of these interactions vary greatly for different international systems with different influential determinants. The most controversial aspect of the definition of the term “international system” is the notion of control over the system.
